Change of Heart
by aFallensrequiem
Summary: Lilly Scott is a child prodigy when it comes to the realm of math and science. A renowned neurosurgeon by the age of 25, she moved to L.A. when invited to work at the city's most prestigious hospital. And then Tony Stark entered her life.
1. Lilly Scott

Hey guys. Just as a note, this is set in movie-verse, and I will admit to knowing relatively nothing about Ironman outside of what was shown in the movie. Sad, I know :P. The rating is M for future chapters that have yet to be written and hopefully _will_ be written.

But anyways, I hope you all enjoy and I hope this story works out!

Disclaimer: Iron Man is not mine (even as much as I may wish and wish). And pretty much anything not directly related to him, etc. is mine ... duh .

* * *

Lilly dutifully unpacked the books from the moving box, tossing them haphazardly onto her bed, not caring completely where they fell. Her two cats, Tabitha and Figaro, played together somewhere in her apartment, and she smiled to herself as she heard them meowing and their running feet. After completely emptying the one box, she blew out a breath and wiped away the fine layer of sweat that had developed along her hairline. Even though all the windows were open and she had an area fan blowing on high, it was still relatively hot in the apartment, especially with all the heavy lifting and physical exertions. The air conditioner was broken and was supposed to have been fixed before she moved in, but it figured. She'd call first thing in the morning. There was no way she was going another day with this heat.

Deciding to take a break from her unpacking, Lilly left her bedroom and walked into the kitchen, reaching into a nearby box and removing a glass before filling it with water from the tap and gulping it all down. She kept chugging the water as she watched her two kittens tear through the kitchen and keep going through the living room and into her bedroom. She finished drinking, took a huge breath, and chuckled, shaking her head.

"Silly kittehs," she said to herself, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand and setting the glass on the counter. She's take care of it later. For the moment, she had more unpacking that was necessary.

Lilly had just recently moved to L.A., not as one of those young women who traveled so far with dreams of becoming an actress or famous singer. She didn't have such stars in her eyes, especially since she was already pretty much famous in the science world. At only 25 years old, she was one of the top neurosurgeons in the country. She had been considered a child prodigy when it came to science and math while in school, and had skipped many grades, then graduated early from Harvard and began to directly begin work as a surgeon. Lilly had secured a job at one of the most prestigious hospitals in California as a neurosurgeon that required her to move from her hometown of Boston to L.A. Life was going to be much different here, the weather incredibly different she had thought to herself at one point and mentally rolled her eyes. Luckily her cats didn't seem to mind the move and had adjusted almost immediately.

Because of her previous job with another prestigious hospital in Boston, she had been able to get a job that was equal in stature to her previous, but with an even better salary; and her salary before had not been "meager" in any way. She knew she was rich a hundred times over but did not like to flaunt her wealth and so put most of it away into savings and led her life on a comfortable, self-instituted allowance. She had splurged on one thing, however, and that was her car. She simply could not resist driving her dream car, a mini cooper. But not just any mini cooper, one that was specifically made for her: cherry red, white racing stripes, customized seats and fabrics, the works.

Lilly finished unpacking the second box of books she had been working on and collapsed backwards onto her bed, arms out and eyes staring straight up. Everything ached from heavy lifting and moving and the constant motion of reaching and placing. Suddenly, a loud "meow" sounded in her left ear and she nearly jumped off the bed. But it was only Figaro jumped onto the bed to join her.

"Hey Fig," Lilly cooed softly, pulling the jet black cat onto her chest and petting him vigorously, which he liked best. Figaro purred his approval and pushed his tiny face into her hand, looking for more. Figaro finally settled down onto Lilly's chest, and still purring, allowed her to continue the ministrations on his fur that grew softer and softer with each passing minute, as Lilly began to drift off to sleep as she was exhausted. Before she realized, she had passed out with Figaro asleep on her chest and Tabitha curled up to join them next to her side.

* * *

Lilly woke to the whirring of the fan that was still running and the insanely loud chirping of birds. Seriously, they sounded like they were sitting in the window instead of right outside on the large oak tree whose branches reached out towards her bedroom windows. Lilly ran a hand down her face and twisted her arm to glance at the watch on her wrist and groaned when she saw that it was almost noon.

"I haven't slept in this late since I was in college," she moaned, sitting up at the edge of the bed and running a hand through her hair. Figaro and Tabitha had woken long ago and were now playing in another room of the house. But once they sensed Lilly was awake, they raced into the room and began to yowl for food.

"Yea yea, you guys, I know, I'm hungry too," Lilly said, standing and treading into the kitchen, preceded by her two yowling cats. Lilly poured some food into the food dishes for the cats and as they munched away happily, she poured herself a bowl of rice krispies and milk, and settled down at the counter to eat it, pondering what she wanted to do today.

The hospital had given her three days to completely move into her new place, and this was the third day of the three given. Lilly still had a ton of boxes to unpack and she groaned at the thought. But at the present moment, she was in no mood to spend another afternoon and evening bending over boxes. She had spent too much time already simply unpacking, and she hadn't yet devoted any time to finding her way around the area she now lived in. Lilly finished her cereal and washing the bowl out quickly, set it next to the glass that was still on the counter from the previous morning.

"I'll deal with it later," she repeated, knowing full well it would be a while until it actually got cleaned and put away. Dishes were her one household nemesis and she couldn't think of anything she loathed more than doing the dishes.

Lilly took a decent length shower and then after quickly drying her long, blonde hair until it poured like silk down her back, she padded into her bedroom and rooted through the many boxes strewn on the floor looking for something to wear.

"I knew I should have labeled these better," she muttered to herself, after opened her fourth box with still no luck. On her sixth try she found her underwear and bras and the box after that yielded some t shirts and shorts. She donned the necessaries and then a simple pair of short jeans shorts and a form-fitting black cap sleeved t shirt. Brushing her hair out of her emerald green eyes, she grabbed her makeup bag and proceeded to apply a thin coating of mascara and eyeliner to her eyes then ran a mineral powder brush over her face before finishing. That was one thing she prided herself on, requiring little maintenance to still look amazing. After she finished getting ready, Lilly made sure all the windows were closed, the cats were all right, then she grabbed her purse and keys and left.

Lilly spent the day out and about, getting used to the area she was now living in and what small shops and such were within a comfortable walking distance to her. She entered her apartment around 5 in the evening and was met with mewling kittens, eager to see her.

"Hey, babies. You guys hungry? Me too," she said, dropping her purse on the end table next to the door and making her way into the kitchen. Luckily, one of the things she did make sure to unpack quickly was her food. That way, making meals and grabbing snacks wasn't such a hassle. She fed the cats their normal meal then opted for some quick and easy pasta for herself. Finally sitting down with her plate of pasta in front of her, Lilly sighed in contentment and began to eat.

As she ate, the beginning tendrils of nervousness were beginning to creep their way into her stomach as she thought about the start of her new job tomorrow. She was nervous about whether the people there would accept her and be friendly, or if she would be stuck working with complete monsters. She was also nervous about her performance. The biggest worry to her was messing up and costing the patient some sort of damage, or even worse. She knew it was all a head game though, and that she hadn't come this far this quickly for no reason. She had earned her place among the top ranked surgeons in the country because of her dedication and skill.

Lilly gave herself this mental pep-talk as she finished her meal and took care of the dishes, this time taking care to actually put all of the dishes into the dishwasher. That way the cats wouldn't knock things over sometime in the night.

"All right, my loves. Bedtime," Lilly called to wherever the cats may be in the large apartment. She knew they would venture into her bedroom to sleep if she wanted, which is why she left her door propped open an inch or two as she walked in. She brushed her teeth, ran a brush through her hair, then dropped into bed with a weary sigh. She closed her eyes for only a moment, intending to open them again, but instead fell immediately asleep.

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Short, I know. Sorry about that. And I do realize it's a little boring as well, but I'm just trying to get all the intro information out there. But anyways, let me know what you all think as there is more on the way !


	2. Dr Scott, I presume?

All righty, back you guys . Thanks to those of you who reviewed, glad to know that at least a few of you approve . And a miscellaneous note: to those of you who are as avid Robert Downey Jr. fans as I and like romantic comedies, _definitely_ check out the move Only You (1994) starring he and Marisa Tomei . Funny movie and eye candy to boot ;P .

Now, down to business . This following chapter is more introduction to characters and places, etc . So, therefore, I apologize for the lack of excitement, I promise you all it's coming eventually . And for the part when our dear, Lilly Scott, is introduced to the hospital, I used the hospital in the TV show "House" as inspiration . So now, enjoy you all .

disclaimer: dont own Dropkick Murphy's song: "I'm Shipping Out to Boston"

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Lilly woke abruptly the next morning to the jaunty tune of the Dropkick Murphy's "I'm Shipping Out to Boston". At the sudden noise, Figaro and Tabitha, who had been napping together on the other side of her bed, flew out of the room with a surprised yowl, scared half to death at the suddenness of the alarm. After a second of not knowing where she was, she groaned and quickly silenced her alarm. Once the alarm was off, Lilly glanced at the time and then groaned again. Since it was her first day, they had wanted her to come in a little early so that she could be shown around and get situated. The incentive they had given her for coming in early was that they would allow her to leave a little early. Lilly just wished "early" didn't mean 6 in the morning. And according to her clock it was 5:15 which meant she had 45 minutes to shower, dress, and get her butt to the hospital. At that sobering thought, Lilly leapt out of bed, now quite awake, and dashed for the shower.

She ended up getting ready in record time, half an hour, and looking decent all at the same time. Making sure one last time that her cats were alive and fed, she grabbed her keys and purse, locked her apartment door, and headed for her car which was parked in the apartment complex's garage.

"Thank god, for living 5 minutes away," Lilly muttered under her breath as she pealed out of the garage, cutting into traffic and speeding down the road. As it was now 5:50 and Lilly was already halfway to the hospital thanks to her speeding, she relaxed quite a bit, but in no way slowed down. She was known amongst her friends for being quite the speed demon and a hellion behind the wheel. But she always laughed and quipped back with the response: "Well, at least I get where I'm going all in one piece." Her friends laughed with her, then responded with: "So far."

Five minutes later, Lilly was pulling into a parking spot reserved especially for her right next to one of the main entrances to the hospital from the parking deck on the first level. Grabbing her purse from the passenger seat, she hurried out of her car and into the building, taking one last reassuring deep breath to calm her nerves as her foot crossed the threshold.

"Dr. Scott, I presume?" a man in a doctor's lab coat greeted her warmly as he walked towards her as she entered the hospital. He had snow white hair with a receding hairline and he looked to be about 60. As he came closer, Lilly figured he stood at around 6 foot had compassionate features.

"Yes, hi," Lilly said with a returning smile, instantly feeling greatly welcomed.

"Ah, good, good, impeccable timing, you have. I'm Dr. Michaels, the chief of medicine here at St. John's," the man said, offering his hand. Lilly took it and they shook hands firmly.

"Thank you again, so much, for giving me the opportunity to work here at St. John's," Lilly said gratefully. Michaels just waved his hand in dismissal and smiled.

"It is an honour to have you working with us, Dr. Scott. We are more than happy to have you here. Now, if you will follow me, I'll show you to your office and introduce you to a few of your colleagues," Michaels said, beckoning her to follow him, as he turned and began to walk down the hallway he had previously just come from. Lilly followed obediently behind him, examining the interior of the hospital all at the same time.

It was as most other hospitals were designed, but as this one was newer and one of the top in the country, it had just _a few_ modifications and fancy additives. The entrance in which she had just come in had an information desk to her left which her and Michaels passed as they walked down the hallway. They passed by elevators, waiting rooms, and small decorative displays of random facts about the human body. Passing by the last display, they entered into a large, two story room with a fountain in the center, the statue of the fountain being some sort of flourished design spewing water from the top-most pinnacle, and huge two story windows reaching from ceiling to floor. Lilly looked around the giant room with widened eyes as she followed Michaels through it and then into another hallway. They came to stop in front of the elevators and Michaels reached over and pressed the "up" button.

"One floor up and then down the hall and we're there!" he said. Lilly smiled at him in response. The elevator doors opened and they both stepped in, Michaels pressing the button for the second floor, and the doors closed. The two of them struck up a small conversation when Michaels asked Lilly about her previous work in Boston. The conversation continued as the elevator reached its second floor destination and allowed the two passengers to leave and continue down a hallway.

"And here we are!" Michaels exclaimed, stopping at a door. The office had floor to ceiling widows showing into the hallway, with the blinds pulled back, so Lilly could peer into the office before actually entering it. And from what she could see, it was amazing. Michael's unlocked the door and opened it, holding it open as he allowed Lilly to enter first then entering in behind her.

The office had two parts to it. One room, the room they entered into, had the desk, filing cabinets, shelves, and the like. It also had large windows showing the outside and a partial view over 

the city of L.A. Michaels led Lilly into the second room, which also had windows peering into the main office and the outside. This second room was more of a meeting room, as it had a whiteboard, meeting table and chairs, and more shelves and filing cabinets.

"So, how do you like your new office?" Michaels asked, after he had showed Lilly the smaller features, and explained to her that some things were still coming in for her, like a computer and her name on the door.

"It's amazing, thank you!" Lilly breathed.

"I'm glad you like it," Michaels said. "If you happen to need anything else or any other kind of supplies, like folders, notebooks, etc., just let the front desk know and they'll make a note and inform the right people. Now, if you want to come with me, I believe George and Rose are already here and so I can introduce you to them. They're either just getting here or just getting out of surgery, I can never remember which!" Lilly followed Michaels out of her office, and further down the hallway a ways until they came to a door that had the name "George McCabe" on the door. Michaels knocked smartly on it and waited for a few seconds. When there was no reply, he tried again, but without success.

"Must be getting out of surgery soon, then," he said, walking back to the elevators with Lilly in tow. "Which means that Rose is most likely also, since they are usually teamed together. See, George is the top heart surgeon here, and Rose is an anesthesiologist." Lilly "Oh'd" appropriately, and followed Michaels back into the elevators to return to the first floor, now getting nervous again to meet her colleagues.

When the elevator doors opened on the first floor, Michaels led her out and down a different hallway, past many rooms and alternative hallways. _'This place is a maze,' _Lilly thought to herself, almost growing dizzy at the many turns they kept taking.

"And don't worry about getting lost in here. You learn your way around fairly quickly," Michaels commented, almost seeming to read Lilly's mind.

"Ok, good. Because knowing me, I'll be trying to find my way to surgery and end up showing up an hour late or on the roof," she joked, chuckling. Michaels laughed and gave her a good-natured smile just as they passed under a sign that read "Surgery Waiting Room."

The pair passed through the waiting room and through some double doors, back into where the patients were actually taken and where the surgery rooms were. After passing by some rooms, and turning a few corners, they apparently came to the room they were looking for as Michaels opened the door for her and followed her in. It was the preliminary wash room where the surgeons and nurses washed up, etc. before doing their surgeries. Currently standing at the large sink conversing jovially was a man and a woman, with surgical face masks pulled down around their necks, and wearing white doctor's robes, their bloody scrubs lying in a basket to the side.

"Dr. Lee and Dr. McCabe, I have found you at last," Michaels exclaimed, abruptly announcing his and Lilly's presence to the two doctors. The woman, Dr. Lee, actually jumped, surprised by the outburst, as Dr. McCable laughed at her.

"It's not funny, George!" she exclaimed, smacking him playfully on the arm.

"Hello, Sir," George said, turning off the water and grabbing some paper towels to dry his hands and forearms.

"Hello, Sir," Rose echoed, doing the same.

"Rose, George, I would like to introduce to you Dr. Lilly Scott, our new neurosurgeon," Michaels said, placing a hand on Lilly's shoulder as he introduced her.

"Hi, pleased to meet you both," Lilly greeted with a smile, shaking both Rose and George's hands when they were offered.

George looked to be about mid to late 30s, with dark brown hair cut in a short, fashionable style. He towered over Lilly's 5'8 frame, so she assumed him to be somewhere between 6'2" and 6'4". '_Tall, dark, and handsome,'_ Lilly mused to herself with an inward smile. And handsome he was. A kind face with startling deep, blue eyes the colour of the midnight sky that peered intently at her.

"It's good to finally meet you. We've all been hearing quite a bit about our new addition to the family and we're all excited as hell," George told Lilly in a friendly tone, settling into his hip and crossing his arms over his chest as he gave her a warm smile.

"Yea, it's a relief to finally be getting another woman around here. Too much male testosterone if you ask me!" Rose chimed in, nodding her head in George's direction at the last comment. Lilly chuckled as George's smile widened.

Rose was gorgeous, and suddenly Lilly felt as though she had walked into a modeling agency instead of a hospital. Seriously, when did all doctors become uber-perfect in the looks department? It was starting to feel like one of Lilly's favourite medical drama shows where everyone was gorgeous 

and not a homely person in sight. Rose seemed to be in her mid to late 30s as well and had jet-black hair that was currently pinned into a bun at the back of her head, with a few pieces, which had escaped, falling into her perfectly, heart-shaped face. Her eyes were very light in contrast to her ebony hair and tanned skin. They shone an icy blue, but holding nothing but warmth in their gaze. She also seemed to stand closer to Lilly's height.

"It's true, though. Dr. Lee and you are only two of a few other women doctors around here. Of course there a lot of nurses who are women, but when it comes to doctors, it seems like the majority is of men," Michaels commented on Rose's statement.

The four doctors chatted for a few minutes more in the wash-up room before Michaels announced he should probably continue showing Lilly around so that she could get down the basics and go home for the day. They all said their goodbyes, and then Lilly followed Michaels out of the washroom and down the hall.

Michaels led her around another section of the hospital, pointing out mundane things like appointment rooms, etc. By the end of tour, which ended back at her new office, Lilly's legs hurt, she had more names in her memory bank than she could remember, and she still probably couldn't find her way to the nearest bathroom even if she had been given a map and a compass.

"I know this is really overwhelming, but believe me, you'll get used to it almost immediately," Michaels said as the two stood in front of her office door. "You're free to go for the rest of the day, just come in tomorrow at your normal starting time, which is 10 am and we'll be sure that your office is set up partly, if not completely, by then. Sound good?"

"Definitely. Thank you so much, again," Lilly said, shaking Michaels' hand again.

"Don't mention it at all, Dr. Scott. It's good to have you on the team," he said. "Now, if you'd like to follow me to the exit, I'll show you the way back to the parking garage."

* * *

Lilly arrived home and entered her apartment, Figaro and Tabitha immediately running up to welcome her.

"Hey there, babies," she cooed, dropped her purse on the table next to the door, kicking off her shoes, and following her cats further into the apartment as they led her towards the kitchen, yowling. "Well, gee. And for a moment I thought you two were happy to see me. But no, you just want to be fed," Lilly muttered, fetching the cats some food.

After the animals were fed, Lilly fixed herself a simple bowl of cheerios, as she was too lazy to do anything else, and plopped down in front of the TV, switching it on. The mindless drone of the afternoon news added to the busy hum of Lilly's thoughts in her mind. As she spooned herself some cheerios, she thought back over her shortened work day and tried to go over the important things Michaels had told her, just so she wouldn't be as likely to forget. She may have been a child prodigy, but she had the worst memory sometimes.

The rest of the afternoon and evening went by at a leisurely pace. Lilly spent her time vegging out and unpacking some of the last boxes so that she would have them finally out of the way. She knew to savour this last day of freedom from paper work, stress, and constant busyness. Around 11 in the evening, she had finished unpacking all of her boxes and was lounging on the couch watching the news, her two cats purring happily in her lap as she lazily pet them. Glancing at the clock and realizing her tiredness, she made the decision to head off to bed and get as much sleep as she could before the chance to get normal hours of sleep disappeared.

"Bedtime, loves," Lilly whispered, picking both cats up in her arms as she shut off the TV. The mewed sleepily as she carried them with her to her bedroom, shutting off lights in the process. She set the cats down on her bed then crawled under the sheets next to them, turning to shut off the final light before she lay down.

"Goodnight," she whispered, then closed her eyes and slept.

* * *

Phew, and thats it . I already have the third chapter written but I'm going to wait to post it until I get some more (possible) feedback and some more written on the next chapter . And something to look forward to, we're introduced to our favourite guy ;P . So please review !


	3. I guess there's a first for everything

Yea, so I lied. I was going to wait until I had the next chapter of this completed, but I felt bad witholding this one, and plus I really wanted to hear feedback on this one since I'm pretty proud of it. lol. So in the end, everyone wins.

_ah, and a quick note to __**Something Not So Normal**__: thats a good point you brought up which I actually hadnt even considered, but you'll see how that works out in this chapter, actually ... :)_

Oh, and I noticed something strange I had done with the names of the characters. Let's see: George and Michaels (singer anyone?) and Lilly and Rose (two flowers). Completely unconscious, but I just noticed and it made me laugh. Oh well :P And even though I keep feeling as if theyres something else I wanted to comment on, I can't for the life of me remember what it may be. So on that note, read on !

* * *

The following week went by in a blur or paperwork, assignments, and people. Lilly often found moments where she would run and lock herself in her office for a few minutes, just so she could escape the constant flow of people looking for her and catch a breath. She had found time to bond with Rose and George, however. In fact, the three had often grabbed coffee or drinks a few times after or right before work and had therefore, grown fairly close.

Lilly had especially bonded with Rose, as they were two of very few women doctors in the hospital. Even though the woman was older than Lilly by about ten years, they got along as well as sisters. Lilly learned a lot about the woman, including Rose really liked to drink and have fun and was never in a relationship for more than a few weeks. The latter was something Rose was hoping to change, however, as she was getting older and losing interest in the single life.

Bonding with her colleagues had made her first week at the job all that much tolerable. Like Michael had promised, she had quickly learned her way about the hospital, only getting lost a few times, but getting redirected by helpful people whenever she did. She had yet to perform a surgery, especially so soon, but already, she had two on her schedule due in a few weeks. But finally it was Friday, and she was free for the weekend. That is, until Saturday evening when she was asked to attend a fancy dinner party with Michaels, George, and Rose.

Lilly entered her apartment, tired beyond belief. She tossed her purse onto its usual place on the end table near the door and wandered into the living room with the invitation to the dinner in her hand. The invitation had been given to her by Michaels right before she had left work at the end of the day. He had told her that the dinner was being given as a sort of celebration of science, medicine, and technology for all of the prestigious companies and institutions in the country.

Lilly looked through the information of the invitation with mild interest as she sat down on the leather couch facing the fireplace. The dinner was Saturday evening at 8 PM and formal dress was required; meaning evening gown for ladies and black tie for men. Lilly ran a hand down her face and thought to herself what dresses she owned that would be appropriate. Standing quickly with invitation still in hand, she walked into her bedroom. She tossed the invitation onto her bed and stepped into her large walk-in closet, examining the clothing hanging from the racks.

After thumbing through a few pieces, Lilly found the dress she had been looking for, and with a triumphant smile, pulled it out into the open. It was a backless number, the back dipping low to touch the very base of her spine. The front, therefore, had a neck that encircled directly at the base of her throat, before dropping off sharply in the back. The dress itself was made of satin and was a deep burgundy that contrasted amazingly against her pale skin and platinum blonde hair. Lilly held the dress up to herself and examined her reflection. The dress reached the ground in an all around even-length hem.

"Perfect," she said, grinning to herself, suddenly very excited to be going to the dinner. She hung the dress carefully on a separate display hook next to the mirror, and left the closet, closing the door behind her. She got herself ready for bed, but opted to read for a little before actually going to sleep. It was into the wee hours of the morning when she finally tore herself away from her latest Stephen King novel, shut off the light, and went to sleep.

* * *

Lilly woke up late the next morning as she knew she would, and the day went by in a blur. She spent a leisurely time before the dinner taking a scented oil bath and pampering herself to be sure she looked her best at the dinner tonight. Michaels and her two colleagues were scheduled to pick her up in a limo at 7:45, so she was dressed and ready before then. She had swept her waist-length hair up into a loose pile in the back of her head, setting it in place with small silver bobby-pins set with shining black gems on the ends, creating an interesting design in sparkling black on the back of her head.

At precisely 7:45 she left her apartment and went to the lobby and out the front door where the limo was just pulling up to the curb. As she stepped closer to it, the back door opened and the chief of medicine came out.

"Lilly! You look absolutely beautiful!" he exclaimed raising his one hand which held a champagne glass. Lilly beamed, blushing prettily.

"Why thank you, sir," she said.

"Please, come along," Michaels said, helping her into the limo then climbing in behind her and allowing the doorman to shut the door behind him. Lilly arranged herself in a seat next to George who smiled warmly at her.

"Looking good, Dr. Scott," he commented, his eyes doing a quick sweep of her outfit as he held out a glass of champagne for her. Lilly smiled back as she accepted the glass.

"Why thank you, Dr. McCabe." Rose was also in the limo and she quickly struck up a conversation with Lilly about the prospect of who was going to be at the dinner. The conversation didn't last long, as the ride was relatively short, and they arrived at their destination a quarter after 8.

"Always good to be fashionably late!" Rose exclaimed with a small giggle, as George helped her from the limo after they had pulled up to the carpet and stopped moving. Lilly chuckled in return and allowed herself to be helped out of the limo by the Michaels.

The four of them emerged onto the red carpet into a sea of flashing lights, many faces, and animated hum of reporters and paparazzi alike. Lilly was cemented to the spot for a brief moment in time in initial shock at the suddenness of the lights and noise. She would have stayed rooted to that same spot had Michaels not had her arm looped around his. He moved forward down the carpet after George and Rose, pulling Lilly along with him and snapping her out of her daze.

Lilly got used to the flashing lights of many cameras and loud talking of the paparazzi very quickly and was soon posing for pictures and smiling comfortably for the cameras with her three colleagues. Lilly glanced casually around the red carpet as they grew closer to the door, just so she could catch glimpses of the faces of some of the other participants of this dinner. Michaels had been pointing out well known surgeons, scientists, researchers, etc. the entire way down the red carpet for her. As she let her eyes rove over the many faces that were still outsides and conversing with each other and the reporters, her eyes fell on a man who was conversing with a reporter across the carpet from her.

He was gorgeous! He looked to be about 30 or so and standing at around 6 feet tall. He wore a black bowtie and a smart, black suit that fit in a way that revealed he was very fit and in shape. His almost black hair was arranged casually and in such a way that his bangs brushed across his forehead, brushing the tips of his eyelashes, which arched over deep, mahogany eyes. He laughed at something, suddenly, that the reporter had said; a deep, bass tone that reverberated deep in his chest. His pleasant smile revealed a perfect set of white teeth. Lilly could feel herself blush so she turned away quickly and tried to focus on something else to make her blush recede. Once she felt comfortable it was gone, she tapped Michaels on the shoulder.

"Who is that?" she whispered, nodding her head in the mystery man's direction, who was now posing for a photo-op with a larger and taller bald-headed man with a bushy white beard.

"You mean the dark-haired man?" Michaels asked, glancing in the direction Lilly had motioned. She just nodded. "That's Tony Stark. He became a billionaire at 21 when he inherited his father's business, Stark Industries, after he died. That was about, oh, 12 years ago, I believe? He's an insanely intelligent man, a scientist through and through. His company works to supply the armies of the world with weapons."

"So he's an arms dealer?" Lilly asked, a little incredulous. Such a trade just seemed a tad strange, especially in this day and age; almost a little barbaric. Michaels nodded.

"He's also known for being an alcoholic and womanizer; quite the playboy. So you just watch yourself, Ms. Scott," Michael teased with a smile. "Stark is a good man, but he falls to worldly vices all too easily." Lilly glanced back at Tony Stark, running the newly learned information through her head, analyzing the man she saw before her. He was now shaking hands with the bearded man he had previously been posing for pictures with and they spoke to each other, something only those close to them could hear. Tony then gave one more wave to the crowd of paparazzi then turned and walked into the building by himself.

"Come on, let's go. The dinner should be starting soon and I would like to have a glass of wine in hand within five minutes," Rose said, coming out of nowhere to appear at Lilly's side. Lilly jumped slightly, broken out of her pondering. She smiled and laughed.

"All right. Let's get you a drink before you go insane," Lilly joked, walking with Rose and the other two men into the building.

* * *

The grand ballroom had been lavishly decorated with deep greens and creamy whites, bright orange flowers accenting the colour palette as they adorned the tables as centerpieces. The four doctors were led to their table, situated towards the front of the room near the stage. They took their seats, ordered their choice of wine, and relaxed a bit, all glad to be sitting. As they were being seated, most everyone attending the dinner was also being lead to their tables, so Lilly barely had time to look around at the other tables, before waiters came out with huge carts with the first course.

The four doctors chatted amicably amongst themselves. Rose prodded Lilly every now and then to point out a man she seemed to find attractive. They soon found it a game to not only just point out the attractive ones, but also the hideously unattractive, and there were many of the latter. Pretty soon, the two women found themselves giggling like school girls.

Pretty soon, the meal part of the dinner was finished, and those who were content with sitting at their tables did just that; either talking with others who remained or picking at the remains of their desert. Others got up again to explore the ballroom and mingle with others or to check out the bar located in the back.

"I'm in the mood for something a little heavier than this wine. Come to the bar with me?" Rose asked Lilly suddenly. Lilly nodded, following her slightly, already tipsy friend and colleague to the back of the room towards the bar where many others already were crowded.

"Martini, please, very dirty," Rose requested, winking slyly at the bartender who smiled in return, filling out her drink order.

"Whiskey on the rocks, please," Lilly asked when the bartender turned to her. The bartender gave her a slight questioning look at such a harsh and "un-ladylike" drink, but didn't say anything and handed her what she ordered. He then went back to flirting with Rose who was nearing the verge of embarrassing herself with every sip she took. Lilly just smiled to herself and sipped her whiskey slowly. She was one of the only women she knew who could take the taste and bite of the drink. She had grown up in a family that drank like fish and had started her and her sister at a young age for reasons none other than simple family tradition and habit. Therefore, she had built up quite a tolerance and an affinity for the stranger and stronger drinks.

"Whiskey on the rocks, please," came a deep, masculine voice from Lilly's left. She casually turned to see who was standing beside her, and she almost choked on her drink when she saw who it was. Lilly quickly looked away and pretended to be looking busily elsewhere, unable to decide if she really wanted to engage in anything, even a conversation, with this man.

"Thank you," Tony Stark said, thanking the bartender as he accepted his drink. He took a sip, wincing at the first sip as the liquid fire poured down the back of his throat. He then glanced over in Lilly's direction, as she was looking away, still debating madly in her head. His eyes moved languorously over her form and smile crept onto his lips as he leaned on the bar casually, supporting himself by leaning on his elbow.

"I don't think I've ever seen a woman drink whiskey before," Tony commented in a lazy tone, turning to face Lilly. Lilly swore mentally to herself, caught now. She turned and looked at him, smiling coyly.

"And I've rarely seen a man who can handle the drink, but I guess there's a first for everything," Lilly said glancing at Tony's glass and punctuating her words by taking a sip of the drink, not even making the smallest face at the taste. Tony Stark grinned at her and half raised his glass to her in a sort of salute.

"Touché, Ms. ...?" he said, trailing off at the name, trying to get her name. Lilly smiled prettily.

"Scott. My name is Lilly Scott," she said, extending her hand. Tony took it and raised it to his lips, brushing them against her knuckles and causing electricity to go shooting up Lilly's arms at the contact. His eyes never left her even as he released her hand, nor did his half smile.

"Pleased to meet you, Ms. Scott. My name is Tony Stark," he said.

"A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Stark," Lilly returned.

"Please, call me Tony," he said.

"Tony," Lilly repeated, smiling. Tony took another sip of his drink, and looked out over the ballroom. There was a parquet dance floor set up where many couples were already dancing on. Lilly took this momentary opportunity of his distraction to also look away and take a large sip of her drink to try and calm her nerves. This was Tony Stark she was talking to! Billionaire, world-wide arms dealer, play-boy; a dangerous man when it came to involving emotions, she concluded.

"Can I interest you in a dance, Ms. Scott?" Tony asked, turning his mahogany eyes back on Lilly.

"I don't know, Mr. Stark. I've heard stories about you. Some that give you an ill reputation concerning women," Lilly responded smartly, immediately wincing inwardly as she hoped that comment didn't sound as caustic as she thought it might. Despite her jangling nerves and her insistent inner yearning to dance, touch, do the unthinkable with this man, she was determined to keep poised and protect herself.

"Do you really believe everything people tell you? And please, call me Tony," he said again, flashing another dazzling smile. Then before she knew what was happening, her drink was suddenly gone from her hand and Tony was leading her out onto the dance floor. A slow song was playing so Tony reached an ideal spot then turned and pulled her close to him, resting one hand primly on her waist, and offering her the other.

"I don't bite, I promise," Tony reassured when Lilly hesitated in taking his hand, even though the grin he was giving her suggested exactly the opposite. She glanced into his eyes, still unsure, but slowly placed one hand on his shoulder and her other hand neatly in his offered one. Once they assumed the position, they began to sway back and forth in time with the music, their bodies separated by a few inches that Lilly made sure was always maintained.

"So, Ms. Scott, what is it that you do?" Tony asked in a low voice. With his mouth placed right next to her ear, Lilly shivered ever so slightly at the warm breath of air his words sent past.

"I'm a neurosurgeon," she answered plainly, readjusting her fingers in Tony's hand. She felt Tony pull back and look at her oddly. She met his gaze and chuckled.

"What?" she questioned. A hesitant smile played on his lips, as he was unsure of whether she was pulling his leg or not.

"How old are you? I thought it took years and years to achieve a career like that. That, and have the required minimum age of one thousand," Tony remarked, clearly amazed if what she was telling him was indeed true.

"I'm 25. And yes, that is incredibly young to be doing what I do, but, not to toot my own horn, I was a bit … ahead of my peers and so I skipped some grades and graduated early from college," Lilly explained.

"Ah, so a fellow prodigy like myself," Tony boasted. Lilly gave a small laugh.

"I guess one of us has to be humble for the other," she said, teasingly. Tony chuckled.

"I guess so."

They moved in time to the music, conversation ceasing between them for the time being. Lilly realized, that during their conversing, they had gotten closer together, so that they were now brushing against each other with each sway; not pressed together, but close enough. Lilly felt herself blush and she hid her face against Tony's shoulder, that being the only place to hide, willing the blushing to go down. Such is the curse of being fair.

"You look absolutely stunning," Tony whispered against Lilly's hair. His hand that was resting on her waist had moved only an inch lower. But now, his fingers were absently playing with the dip of her dress, running casually along the line where skin met fabric. Lilly shivered at the sensation and unconsciously pressed herself into Tony so that their bodies were aligned flush against the other. Tony responded by pulling her even tightly against him with the hand on her lower back, pressing her to him, intimately.

"Th-thank you," Lilly stuttered. She had been so adamant to keep from falling under his spell, but her resolve was rapidly weakening.

"You're very welcome," Tony whispered in reply. Lilly's breath hitched slightly in her throat as Tony brushed his lips against her ear as he spoke. She felt him smile in response to her reaction. The smile instantly brought back her resolve as she chastised herself inwardly, reminding herself about Tony's true intentions: seduction and a one night stand.

"What are your plans for the rest of the night?" Tony asked in a low voice. Lilly knew what his words insinuated and thankfully, she had gathered her wits about her by this time and could think clearly.

"They include going home and taking care of my cats then heading off to bed," Lilly said, pulling away from Tony, thanking the music which had coincidentally ended at the time of his question, giving her the perfect reason to pull away. Dull surprised flashed in Tony's eyes at her actions, but he quickly collected himself and his once warm eye grew hard and cold.

"Very well. It was a pleasure meeting you, Ms. Scott," he said, formally. Lilly frowned inwardly, but tried not to let the slightly hurt emotion show on her face. She had just wanted to get out of the situation, not turn him against her completely.

"The same, Mr. Stark," she replied. And with that, Tony turned and left her standing there awkwardly, not even correcting her and asking her to call him Tony. Lilly sighed and left the dance floor, heading in the direction of her table with the rest of her colleagues. As she neared the table, she found George and Michaels donning their jackets.

"Ah, Lilly. I was just about to go searching for you. We've decided to call it a night and were wondering if you would like a ride home?" Michaels said, greeting her as she neared. Lilly nodded her head.

"Yea, that would be wonderful," she said, taking her purse from her chair. "Let me find Rose because I'm sure she's somewhere right now torturing the male population and should probably be called off." George and Michael laughed in agreement and let Lilly wander back towards the bar where she was sure Rose still was. Sure enough, Rose was leaning on the bar, chatting now with a man who was nearly twice her age and not as intensely interested in what she was saying as he was in peering down the front of her dress.

"Rose, I do believe it's time to go," Lilly said as she came up next to her friend.

"But I was just telling … who are you again?" Rose began then stopped, pausing confused for a moment before turning towards the elderly gentleman. Lilly took Rose's drink from her grasp, set it on the bar and despite her friend's protestations, all but dragged her away, and walked out with her and her two male colleagues who met them near the door.

Once back in the limo, Rose all but passed out on Lilly's shoulder.

"At least she had a good time," George said, chuckling, helping Lilly pull Rose up off of her. Lilly watched him as he gently patted Rose's cheek, murmuring in her ear for her to wake up. A small smile slowly grew on Lilly's face as realization hit her full force. Sure, she had only known these two for a week, but she knew how to read people. It was then she realized that George had feelings for Rose. It was obviously apparent to her as she watched him handle Rose's unconscious form delicately and in the way he watched her sleeping face. It seemed almost ironic that George, who had worked with Rose for years and years, had feelings for her. Especially since Rose was always out looking for someone to love and take care of her, always finding the wrong kind of man, totally oblivious to the fact that she had a man right here who would do anything for her in a moment's time. Lilly shook her head, still smiling, and knew that Rose would figure it out soon enough.

"I think I'm going to take her back to my place and let her crash there. There's no way she's getting into her house tonight and taking care of herself," George commented after a while, not succeeding in rousing Rose. Lilly and Michaels agreed and the rest of the ride to each of the doctor's homes was filled with periods of conversation, and then periods of individual reflection of the evening.

Lilly turned and stared out the window, watching the many buildings go racing by, as her mind turned to the enigma of a man, Tony Stark. He screamed dangerous in her mind, but she could see how women so easily let their guards down around him. He was insanely charming and not to mention, beautiful to boot. With wealth as great as he had, she knew that any woman would throw herself at him for just one chance. And according to his status as the resident playboy, that's exactly what they did.

She sighed quietly to herself as she went over the happenings during her small amount of time with him at the bar and then on the dance floor. The way his eyes went dull and distracted when she turned down his invitation for the rest of the night bothered her more than she was willing to let it. She remembered how he had abruptly disappeared quickly after that, no doubt to go find another woman to seduce and take back to his home with him; one who would more willingly leave. Lilly frowned at this thought and soon found herself growing a little angry. She had thought he would have more class than that. But obviously he did not. Apparently she had expected too much of the man. Completely annoyed now, she banished all thought of Tony Stark from her mind, and instead, turned and joined the conversation that Michaels and George were having about work.

'_No more thoughts about Tony Stark,'_ she swore mentally to herself, laughing along with something George had said. _'He's just not worth it.'_

* * *

Tony thanked his driver as he opened the door for him, closing it behind Tony when he slid into the back seat of the jet-black Bentley. Once in the car, Tony immediately leaned over to the small bar and poured himself a glass of whiskey, settling back into his seat and taking a sip as the driver started the car and began to drive Tony back to his home.

Almost immediately, Tony's thoughts turned to the woman who had most surprised him that night, that Dr. Scott. He absently swished his drink around as he remembered the sparkle of her emerald eyes, the way tendrils of platinum hair escaped from their pinnings and delicately framed her face, the way her full, lips turned up elegantly at the sides when she would smile at him, driving him crazy with the coyness hidden in her smiles. He took another sip of his whiskey as he remembered what she was wearing. The dress was deceivingly modest when viewed from the front, but as she turned, revealing that the back was basically missing. Her back had been smooth and white, without a single blemish or mark to mar the perfect skin. Having that great an expanse of skin revealed had made Tony just want to run his hands over it, and perhaps put his mouth to work there, also. Remembering this about that woman caused Tony to abruptly down the rest of his drink, pour himself a second, and down that one completely. His eyes watered and he coughed once.

"Tony, my dear, you've already had so much to drink tonight. I don't want you to pass out on me," came a feminine voice from the seat next to Tony just as a petite hand snaked its way onto his thigh, running up and down it. Tony sighed inwardly, turning his attention to the brunette he had decided to bring home with him tonight. As much as Dr. Scott had tormented him, he was never one to simply focus all his attention on one woman.

"Don't worry, I'm perfectly coherent and won't miss a single moan of yours," he said seductively, leaning over and kissing the brunette's neck. He felt the brunette's breath hitch in her throat and then she giggled, still running her hand up and down his thigh.

In his mind, Tony recalled how Lilly Scott had stepped away from him as she declined his offer for further plans for the evening. She was smarter than the rest, something Tony found irritatingly sexy. He frowned slightly at the memory, recalling his own surprised at her declination. He didn't think he had ever been refused. Because of that, he had left quickly, the blow to his ego leaving him annoyed and a little frustrated. That was when he had found the brunette who had been all too willing to do anything for him, and that small victory had repaired his bruised ego.

This woman was no Dr. Scott, but she would simply have to do for the night.

* * *

And done! Poor Tony getting dumped . But hey, everyones got to experience it at some point! Diligently working on the next chapter in hopes it wont take too long to get up here. But in the meantime, you all know the drill. Push that pretty little button down there and tell me what you think!


	4. The Great American Hamburger

And we're back! As I was editing this chapter, I noticed that I have a strange affinity for these line dividers. Sorry if the excessive amount of them makes this difficult to read, but theyre basically for my own selfish use so I can read the chapter better. .. lol .. sorry !

So, thank you all to who reviewed or added my story to your favourites or alerts! I was kind surprised so many out there like it . haha . But, that knowledge spurs me on to keep writing and adding chapters. I'm really determined to actually finish this. And just as a note, the plot of this is essentially the plot line of the movie, but with added characters (obviously) which change it a little bit. But yea.

I do believe that that is all I wanted to mention, so if that is indeed the case .. read on !

* * *

The rest of the weekend went by in sort of a blur, Sunday passing by faster than Lilly quite would have liked. And before she knew it, it was Monday morning and time for work. She dragged herself lazily out of bed and got ready, then drove out to the hospital, yawning intermittently the entire way.

She parked her car when she arrived, and walked leisurely up to her office, exchanging hellos with some of the people she passed. After exiting the elevator on the second floor, she made her way towards her office, entered it, and immediately collapsed into her office chair with a tired sigh, running her hand down her face. She hadn't been sitting for more than 10 seconds when there was an excited knock at the door. Lilly opened her mouth to grant the person entry when they decided to let themselves in anyway, the door opening before Lilly could say anything. It was Rose, and she quickly came into the room, a huge smile plastered on her face.

"Good morning, sunshine!" she exclaimed happily, walking over to Lilly's desk and settling into one of the two chairs facing it. Lilly just grunted in response and took a sip of her coffee, praying to the all mighty coffee gods that they may work their magic and wake her up before any real work had to be done. Rose laughed at her friend and leaned back in the chair, crossing her legs.

"So," Rose dragged out, looking at Lilly with a bemused expression on her face. Lilly noticed the expression and deduced that nothing good could come from a smile like that.

"What," she said cautiously, eyeing Rose carefully.

"I heard you had a run in with the infamous Tony Stark, Saturday night," Rose said, her bemused expression a full out grin now. "How'd it go?" she asked, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. Lilly just groaned, the memories of Saturday coming back to her, and she put her head in her folded arms on the desk.

"That great, huh?" Rose joked with a laugh. Lilly raised her head and shot Rose a mock dirty look then chuckled and leaned back in her chair, taking another sip of coffee. Lilly then proceeded to fill Rose in all the details of her run in with Stark Saturday evening, being careful not to leave out anything. When she got to the part of Tony asking her of her evening plans and her declining, Rose's eyes widened and she look shocked.

"You turned down a roll in the hay with Tony Stark?" Rose exclaimed loudly. Lilly, hushed her friend, chuckling at Rose's outburst. Lilly nodded.

"I did," she confirmed, and Rose continued to stare at her wide-eyed. "I don't know, Rose. I just didn't want to get involved with someone who has such a reputation as he does."

"But that's the point! You don't get involved! You go, fool around for the night, then part ways and that's it!" Rose laid out as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Lilly shook her head, smiling.

"Frankly, I'm not too interested in one night stands with men infamous for their womanizing," Lilly pointed out, raising an eyebrow. Rose shrugged.

"Speak for yourself, my dear," she said, a blissful grin gracing her lips. Lilly laughed and shook her head, taking another sip of her coffee, finally starting to wake up.

"I do have to admit he is quite sexy," Lilly admitted in a conspiratorial whisper as Rose stood.

"There you go!" Rose said, and laughed. "But hey, I have some paper work I have to get finished and I know your day is just starting so I'll let you get to work!" Lilly said goodbye to Rose as she left, softly shutting the door behind her. Lilly sat for a moment longer, staring off into space as she ran the memories of Saturday through her mind again, for really the first time since that evening. She had sworn to keep Tony Stark from her mind, and had actually succeeded quite well. But now Rose had brought those memories surging back to the surface and Lilly actually caught herself mentally admiring Tony's bone-melting smile, his penetrating mahogany eyes, his-

"Ok, enough!" Lilly exclaimed suddenly, snapping herself out of her day dream, frustrated with how she had let her mind indulge itself, thinking about the man she had sworn she wouldn't let bother her. "I have to get to work," she muttered to herself and did just that.

* * *

The work day went by methodically and before Lilly knew it, her day was over and she was packing up ready to leave. As she was putting some files into her briefcase, Rose poked her head into her office.

"Hey there, you want to go get some drinks when you're done packing up?" she asked.

"Sure, give me two more minutes and I'll meet you out in the hallway," Lilly answered.

"Ok," Rose replied and left the room. Lilly quickly packed up the rest of her things, and before leaving the room, made one final sweep of the room with her eyes to make sure that there wasn't anything she had forgotten. After she was sure she had everything, she left her office and locked the door as Rose walked up to her with her own things.

"Let's go and break some hearts!" Rose exclaimed, looping Lilly's arm with her own and marching her off towards the elevator. Lilly laughed and just let her friend lead her away. She was in the crazy world of Rose for the evening.

* * *

Lilly and Rose arrived at the bar, which wasn't fancy per say, but definitely not where the average bum off the street would wander in to get a drink. The interior gave off a comfortable vibe. Many people, some who looked just off work as Rose and Lilly, and others who seemed just seemed to be hanging out, created a lively buzz of conversation that contested peacefully with the music playing from the speakers and the low hum of television sets facing down towards those sitting at the actual bar. Lilly followed Rose over to two empty bar stools and settled in the one next to Rose.

"This is one of my favourite places to go to after work or just by myself when I need some me time. It's not high standards but it does have some good regulars," Rose commented to Lilly. The bartender came their way and took their drink orders; Rose requested a long island ice tea which she sipped gingerly, and Lilly opted for a vodka martini, very dry. The two women sat in silence for a few moments, each getting accustomed to the tastes of their drinks and absorbing the atmosphere of the bar.

"Oh, hey, how was waking up in George's apartment Sunday morning?" Lilly asked, suddenly. She had tried to remember to ask Rose this earlier, but had completely forgotten. Rose chuckled.

"I didn't know where I was at first. I mean, I've known George for years now, but I don't think I've ever been inside his place before. So, I woke up in the guest bedroom and almost started flipping out, definitely still hung over, mind you. He was really nice about it, though. He made sure I felt ok and everything and then even called me a taxi and waited with me for it and everything," Rose recounted. Lilly made an "Aw" sound and Rose nodded her head in agreement, sipping her drink.

"That is so sweet! George sounds like such a gentleman," Lilly said.

"He really is. He was very kind about the whole thing …" Rose said, trailing off, lost in her own thoughts and memories. Lilly glanced sideways at Rose, almost seeing the wheels turning in her head. But then suddenly, Rose shook her head as if to clear it and sat up straighter, taking another sip of her drink. "But yea. So anyways, how was your weekend?" Lilly sighed at her friend's abrupt subject change, but obliged her with the details.

Rose and Lilly chatted for a quite a while at the bar, Rose getting a second drink but Lilly opting for water after she finished her first. During a lull in their conversation, Rose glanced up at the television screen and saw none other than Tony Stark giving a press conference to a bunch of reporters.

"Hey, Lilly, there's your guy!" Rose said, nudging Lilly in the side and pointing up the television screen.

"Oh come on," Lilly protested with a smile, but Rose ignored her, and instead called over to the bartender to turn up the volume on that specific television set.

"In two days, I'm heading out to the Middle East on some business, to promote the newest addition to the growing military weaponry Stark Industries has developed thus far," Tony announced on the television. He then smiled; a sort of secretive smile. "It's going to blow their minds." At his last words, there was a roar as the reporters leapt at the chance to bombard him with questions, but instead he gave them a smile, waved once, and left the stage and the screen.

"Hm," Lilly said in a disinterested sort of way as Rose motioned for the bartender that he could turn the volume back down. Fact of the matter was, however, she was far from disinterested. Seeing Stark and hearing his voice had sent a shudder through Lilly's body. She just didn't want to admit it.

"The Middle East, huh?" Rose mused. "I guess where the need is the greatest, it makes sense to go." Lilly simply nodded in agreement, making a noncommittal sound, and took a swig of her water. Rose watched her friend carefully and a small smile of triumph began to form on her lips. Lilly glanced at her, saw the smile, and winced.

"Oh jeez, what now?" she asked.

"You like him," Rose whispered, her smile growing even larger.

"Do not," Lilly muttered to her water, not meeting Rose's gaze.

"Uh-huh," Rose said, turning away to take a sip of her drink, her smile still dancing in her eyes. The two women were quiet for a moment, with Lilly mentally cursing herself. Rose glanced over at Lilly again, staring at her out of the corner of her eye, the sly smile back on her lips. Lilly didn't notice for a few moments, then glanced over at Rose, caught the smile, and threw up her hands in frustration.

"Ok, ok! I'll admit it! I do think he's attractive and I do have the teeny-tiniest little microscopic crush on him!" Lilly exclaimed in an exasperated tone of voice. Rose laughed.

"Well, at least you admit it," Rose said, laying her hand on Lilly's and feigning seriousness. Lilly laughed and swatted Rose's hand away.

"Sheesh, but hey, I should probably get going here. It's getting late and I have some things I want to get done before I get to sleep," Lilly said, laughter lifting her words.

"All right," Rose agreed. She paid both of their bar tab, refusing Lilly's offer to pay for her own drink, and the two of them left the bar and stepped out into the warm L.A. evening.

"I'll see you at work tomorrow," Rose said, and waved at Lilly as the two women parted ways, both having parked in different locations. Lilly waved back and walked to her car. Climbing into the driver's seat, she paused with her key in hand and hand in midair to the ignition. She thought over her admitting to having a crush on Stark to Rose. She had finally stopped trying to fight herself on the matter and given in to her thoughts on him, fueling her mini crush. Despite all of her warnings and resolve to keep emotions separate from this man, her own heart and mind had betrayed her and she had eventually succumbed to his charms. Lilly sighed in a defeated manner, and continued with her motion to start her car, turning the key in the ignition and listening to the engine roar to life.

"Not like it matters, anyways. Stark isn't the type to settle with one person. And it's not like I'll most likely ever see him again, anyway," Lilly muttered to herself, pulling out of the parking lot and heading towards her apartment. But no matter how much she tried to talk herself out of it, the small crush she had for him stayed resolutely put.

* * *

The next day at work went as it usually did: Lilly showing up half asleep, Rose bursting into her office as cheerful as anything, chattering away a thousand words a minute, and Lilly finally waking up around her third cup of coffee. Lilly's first surgery was coming up in the next week so she had some paper work she had to do before that day arrived, which kept her busy during the day. The day came and went, and soon it was the end of the day, and Lilly was packing up her things again.

"Hey, Lilly, you want to go get some food with George and I?" Rose called, from her office, sticking her head outside the door.

"Nah, not tonight, you guys. Thanks though. I think I just need some time to veg and hang out," Lilly declined.

"All right, no problem. See you tomorrow!" Rose said with a wave, and then disappeared back into her office, shutting the door louder than she meant to.

"Sorry!" came a muffled apology from Rose's office. Lilly chuckled to herself, shaking her head, and headed for the parking lot to return home.

* * *

Lilly entered her apartment, and tossed her briefcase and purse onto the table next to the door, shedding her heels without stopping as she made her way to her bedroom. Even her cats were too tired to greet her as she found them snuggling together on her bed. She smiled sweetly, and ran a hand down both of their backs before moving to change out of her work clothes. Removing her high-waisted pencil skirt and white blouse, Lilly opted for the comfiest thing she could find: her black lounge pants, a simple white wife-beater, and her bunny slippers that always made her giggle like a child when she looked down at them. She sighed as she took her hair down from its bun, and ran her fingers through it, working out the kinks and knots as she padded softly into the kitchen to find something to eat. But before she could even open the refrigerator door, she stopped cold and swore out loud. She had forgotten to go grocery shopping.

"Which means …" she trailed off, wincing in anticipation as she opened the fridge door. "Damnit!" she yelled, the empty fridge confirming her suspicions. She had completely forgotten and now she had absolutely nothing to eat. That is, unless she wanted to chew on a can of green beans, she randomly found as she started going through her pantries. But besides the green beans, a box of cheerios, a loaf of bread, and some flour and spices, she had nothing. And not being in the mood for cheerios for once in her life, she had to make the dreaded decision to go back out and get some fast food. Lilly sighed and rested her head against the refrigerator door with a loud "thunk" as she tried to calm herself down and refrain from breaking something out of frustration.

"All right, then," she said to herself, and went back to her room, kicked her slippers off, donned a simple black, zip-up hoodie, slipped on her flip flops, and grabbed her purse on her way back out.

Lilly sped the entire way to Burger King, deciding back at her apartment that she was in the greatest mood for chicken tenders, and in her mind, they had the best. She shot into the parking lot, narrowly missing the car parked next to her and slammed on the brakes, completing a perfect parking job. Her father used to joke with her that she should have either been in NASCAR or a stunt driver instead of a neurosurgeon. After slamming the car door and locking it behind her, she entered into the Burger King and the normal smells and sounds of any fast food restaurant assaulted her senses. Luckily, it wasn't too crowded that night, with only a few families or couples sitting and one or two currently waiting at the register.

"Thank god," she muttered to herself, and stepped into line, staring up at the menu even though she already knew what she wanted. There was really nowhere else to look.

"Nothing in your refrigerator either?" came a male voice suddenly from directly behind her. Lilly jumped, suppressing a yelp of surprise and turned around quickly to see who had snuck up on her. A man, who stood about a few inches taller than her and was wearing a newsboy style cap, was standing directly behind her with a wide grin on his face.

"Mr. Stark?" Lilly hissed in disbelief. Tony lifted up the aviators he was wearing for a brief moment to reveal his full face and winked at her before lowering them again. The smile dropped from his face and he put on an air of mock seriousness.

"Try to keep it down, I'm trying to maintain a low profile," he said quietly, nudging her forward as the line moved. Lilly glanced back at him, her mouth still open in amazement.

"What are you-" Lilly began, but Tony cut her off, finishing her question for her.

"Doing in Burger King? Good question, Ms. Scott. You see, my assistant refused to make me something for supper as she had her panties in a bunch over something, and nothing in my kitchen was appealing. So, Burger King is the next best thing. Nothing beats the great American hamburger," Tony answered in a brisk manner, a playful smile creeping onto his lips. Lilly shot him a look out of the corner of her eye and despite herself, felt herself smiling in return.

"There have got to be better places to get the 'great American hamburger'," Mr. Stark," Lilly returned.

"Please, it's Tony to you, Ms. Scott," he said with a grin and without acknowledging her point. Lilly just shook her head and chuckled, stepping up in line as it was her turn next.

"Hi, yea, I'd just like an 8-piece chicken nugget and small coke. Thanks," Lilly told the cashier.

"Will that be all?" the cashier asked after punching in Lilly's order. Lilly was about to answer "yes", when Tony stepped up, putting a hand on Lilly's shoulder and leaning in.

"Yea, and I'd like two hamburgers and a medium coke," he said, completely cutting Lilly off. The cashier looked flustered for a moment and glanced at Lilly who just shrugged her shoulders, so he took down his order as well. Tony rifled through his wallet, pushing Lilly's hand down that held her own wallet, and holding out the money that would cover both of their meals.

"Thanks," Lilly finally forced out, equally flustered as the cashier at what had happened.

"No problem, now let's find a table," Tony said before wandering away from the counter towards an empty table in the back. Lilly watched him walk away for a second, and then smiled; shaking her head in disbelief and walked over to the table Tony had just sat down at.

Lilly settled into the chair across from Tony as he was glancing about the restaurant, making sure no one was staring openly back at him; a sure sign they knew who he was. He wasn't trying to act like a snobby celebrity in the sense of avoiding rabid fans, but mainly in the sense that he just wanted what Lilly wanted: a calm night alone to relax and unwind. And like Lilly, no food in the refrigerator had been a small speed bump.

The two were silent for a moment, neither sure of what to say to the other. As Lilly opened her mouth to say something, their number for their food was called out.

"Hold that thought," Tony said, and jumped up from the table to retrieve the food. Lilly sighed and closed her mouth, slouching back in her chair as she waited for Tony to come back. He arrived a minute later, and set down the tray with the food in the center of the table, doling out whose was whose and then taking the tray and setting it at the top of a garbage can with the rest to get it out of the way. Another moment later, and he was back in his seat.

"So, what were you about to say?" Tony asked, unwrapping his first hamburger. Lilly laughed to herself.

"Honestly, I can't remember," she said, taking a bite of chicken.

"You blew it," Tony commented dryly, taking another bite of his food. Lilly smiled wryly, understanding the joke.

"I blew it, indeed," she returned. Tony smiled back at her and the two resumed their meal, enjoying the quiet shared between them.

"So, the Middle East, huh?" Lilly asked, breaking the silence. Tony nodded, and waited until he had finished chewing to answer her.

"Yea, leaving tomorrow at some point. Should be fun," he commented, simply. The two then got to talking about what Tony did and about his company and his father. As Lilly listened to Tony talk about his past, she was frankly surprised that this man had opened up to her and was explaining to her things about his company and his family. Or in Tony Stark's case, lack thereof. The Tony Stark Lilly had previously encountered at that dinner was slowly peeling away, revealing a deeper and more vulnerable man she never thought existed beneath Stark's usual and seemingly shallow exterior. The conversation moved from about him to about her, and she explained to him about the work she did. As she spoke, it seemed to her that Stark was even genuinely listening to her. Throughout the duration of their conversation, Lilly was surprised at the man Stark had revealed himself to be, hidden deep within himself. He had all the potential in the world to be a caring and compassionate individual, but either had the lack of motivation or care to do and be so. It was at that moment that Lilly's crush blossomed, and she began to care just the tiniest bit for Stark. No matter what labels he had been given, Michaels was right when he had described him: Tony Stark was a good man at heart, but he just didn't have the strength to keep the evils of the world from taking a hold of him. It was almost terribly romantic just how vulnerable this man was.

"You have to let me take you to a real dinner at some point," Tony said, as their conversation began to come to an end, both realizing they had been sitting in Burger King for a little more than an hour just talking.

"What?" Lilly asked, momentarily surprised.

"I would like to take you to dinner. Burgers are nice and all, but I'd much rather share a real meal with you," Tony repeated.

"Um," Lilly trailed off, biting her lower lip as she thought.

"Please?" Tony asked sincerely, reaching across the table to place a hand on hers, his mahogany eyes trained on her emerald green ones.

"All right," Lilly agreed, finally. A huge grin lit up Tony's face and they both stood, taking their trash to the garbage cans.

"Sometime after I get back from the Middle East, surely. I'll get in touch with you then," Tony said, as they both walked out of the restaurant. Lilly nodded her agreement and walked to her car with Tony following her.

"Nice car," he commented simply, trying to avoid an awkward silence, when they reached Lilly's car. Lilly fished her keys out of her purse.

"Thanks," she said, smiling up at him.

"A couple of days then?" Tony asked, quirking an eyebrow, hoping she hadn't already changed her mind.

"Sure," Lilly replied.

"I'll call you," Tony said with a relieved grin. "Goodnight, Ms. Scott."

"Please, call me Lilly," Lilly said, with a coy smile.

"Goodnight, Lilly," Tony repeated, his eyes holding her own. He then leaned in quickly, giving Lilly a peck on the cheek, then sauntered away, hands in his pockets, whistling a random, upbeat tune. Lilly's heart leapt into her mouth the moment his lips had touched her cheek, and she barely had the muscle coordination to unlock her door and get her body into the driver's seat. Eventually she did, however, and she sat for a moment, dazed and all too happy at the events of the night. With her heart still racing, she started her car, backed out of the lot, and drove home.

* * *

The next morning at work, Lilly wandered up to her office, orange juice instead of coffee in her hand, and a smile on her face. Rose ran into her as she was just leaving her own office and stopped dead when she saw Lilly. Rose eyed her warily.

"Is it the end of the world already?" Rose asked as Lilly unlocked her office door and entered, Rose following in behind her.

"What now?" Lilly asked, setting her things down on her desk.

"It's before noon and you're smiling _and_ without coffee!" Rose exclaimed, just noticing the difference in drinks. Her hand flew to her chest and she sagged against the door frame in a melodramatic style. "I think I need a doctor. I'm about to have a heart attack!"

"Someone need a doctor?" George said cheerily, popping his head into the office. Lilly laughed and Rose playfully smacked him on the arm.

"You goof, way to ruin my melodramatic scene," Rose said with a chuckle.

"So what is it that has Rose feigning heart attacks this time?" George asked, fully coming in the room to join the conversation.

"I have absolutely no clue what Rose is talking about," Lilly said, with a gleeful grin on her face. The dark haired woman glared at Lilly who just wiggled her eyebrows and took a sip of her juice.

"So what is it, Ms. Scott, that has you looking so chipper this morning?" Rose demanded, bent on getting an answer to her friend's abnormal behaviour. Lilly simply shook her head, refusing to answer.

"Ah come on, now I'm curious," George said. Lilly still shook her head, clamping her mouth shut. The two women stared at each for a minute, Rose tapping her finger to her chin as she tried to think of something that could cause the change in her friend's attitude. Then it came to her and a smile spread out wickedly on her pixie-like face.

"It has to do with Tony Stark, doesn't it!" Rose exclaimed. Lilly grinned and simply nodded, sipping her juice again. Rose laughed and did a small victory dance.

"You know Tony Stark?" George asked, coming back into the conversation. Lilly nodded.

"We met briefly at the dinner on Saturday," she answered, her tone and voice serious once again.

"So how did you go from barely admitting you _may_ have a crush on the guy to smiling in the morning because of him?" Rose asked eagerly.

"We ran into each other last night at Burger King. Yes, Burger King," Lilly repeated at both Rose and George's incredulous looks.

"No, I just mean what are you doing there eating that horrible food?" Rose asked in a disgusted tone. Lilly shot her a look. "I'm kidding. Keep going."

"Well, we ran into each other and ended up talking for over an hour just about stuff. And then he asked me out to dinner once he gets back from the Middle East in a few days," Lilly finished.

"Ooh la la!" Rose exclaimed. Lilly laughed.

"Just be careful, ok, Lilly? I've heard some things about Stark…" George said, his eyebrows furrowing slightly as he frowned.

"I know, don't worry," Lilly reassured him. George just made a noncommittal sound in his throat, and left the office without another word. Lilly looked at Rose slightly confused as George's behaviour.

"Don't worry about him," Rose said, waving her hand in the air. "Apparently George used to know Stark and they had a falling out over something. But that was a very long time ago so there's nothing for you to worry about!" Lilly nodded and smiled, but felt that niggling feeling of doubt moving in the back of her mind spurred to life suddenly by George's strange behaviour.

* * *

The rest of the day went by, far more busy than her previous days as she had still more paperwork to attend to and everyone seemed to want to ask her a question today. By the end of the day, Lilly was exhausted and completely ready to go home.

"Hey, Rose, I'll see you tomorrow," she said, poking her head into Rose's office. Rose had to stay late and catch up on her own paperwork so she was sitting at her office which was completely covered with papers, her reading glasses pushed back onto the top of her head and a pencil stuck at an odd angle in her bun.

"Ok, awesome, hey, have you seen my glasses?" Rose asked, a bit frantically. Rose was a wonderful person, but just couldn't seem to get everything together sometimes. Lilly chuckled and simply tapped the top of her head.

"Oh!" Rose said, grabbing her glasses from the top of her head, putting them on, and sighed. "Thanks. See you tomorrow!" Lilly waved, then closed the office door and made her way to her car to go home.

* * *

"Seriously, why is there never anything on?" Lilly said in a frustrated tone as she flipped through the channels on her TV. Her bunny-slippered feet were propped up on the coffee table, and Figaro sat purring in her lap as Lilly stroked him absently. She finally gave up with a sound of disgust and left the channel on the news channel, rising and picking up Figaro at the same time, walking into the kitchen. The news anchor droned on about gas prices rising again as Lilly set Figaro on the counter and rummaged through her freezer, finally pulling out the chocolate ice cream she had been searching for. She took a bowl and spoon from the proper cabinets and began to dole out some of the ice cream to herself, pushing Figaro away as he kept trying to insistently see inside the ice cream container.

"Chocolate ice cream is not for kitties," Lilly said, pushing him away a final time as she closed the container and put it away, back into the freezer. Picking up her bowl of ice cream, she licked the spoon clean as she wandered back into the living room to the news anchor announcing the next news topic.

"Tony Stark missing?" came the announced topic. Lilly stopped dead and almost dropped her bowl of ice cream as she stared at the screen, her mouth hanging open. "In Afghanistan for a routine business trip, the Humvee convoy that Stark had been riding with was savagely attacked, most of the soldiers protecting the convoy, not surviving the attack. As of this moment, Stark has not been found and it is unclear as to whether he is still alive."

* * *

All done ! Im kind of impressing myself how my chapters gradually get a little longer each time . Now if only I can keep that up ... But anyhow, havent started the next chapter yet, and a pretty big personal issue came up so, it may take a wee bit longer than usual to get the next chapter posted. I will try my best though to get it up as fast as possible ! But in the meantime, you all know the drill. Press that pretty little button down there and tell me what you think !


	5. Anything For You, Ms Scott

Hey all! Sorry to make you wait there. But let me just tell you, funerals arent any fun / . But anyways . I finally cranked out this chapter, but I'm not sure how happy I am with it because it seems a bit forced to me. But thats just my opinion. I'm just glad to finally have another chapter written. And thank you so much to all of you who left such awesome reviews. haha . Seeing those really spurred me on to keep on writing. Make sure you keep those reviews coming as well ;P

I know I wrote in one authors note about the character Jim Rhodes. I had forgotten what his status was and which miliary affilitation he was with, so I kinda just declined to specify anything. lol .

* * *

"… it is unclear as to whether he is still alive." Lilly stood, still frozen to the spot as she stared at the screen, no longer comprehending the words coming out of the television set but instead, just seeing the news anchor's mouth open and close, speaking words she had become temporarily deaf to. Not much more was said on the issue, as the situation had clearly just occurred and the news stations had yet to receive much more information, and so the news anchor concluded with a dangling cliffhanger of: "More details as the situation develops."

At this, Lilly suddenly became mobile, and setting aside her ice cream on the kitchen counter, she snatched up her cell phone and rapidly dialed up Rose's number. The phone rang once, twice, and then picked up.

"Yellow?" Rose answered cheerfully.

"Rose, turn on the news. Now!" Lilly said, her urgency obvious when Rose hesitated for a mere second and Lilly responded by yelling.

"Ok, ok, sheesh, give me a moment. Don't get your panties in a bunch," Rose grumbled. Lilly could hear her searching around for the remote, then giving up with a sigh, and actually walking up to her TV and turning it on, flipping through the channels until she got to the news.

"Oo, I do need to go shopping," Rose said thoughtfully into the phone, no doubt responding to the current commercial for Macy's that was showing on the screen.

"No, Rose, not that. This!" Lilly said in a frustrated tone, then suddenly exclaiming when the new anchor returned to the screen, with another go around of the story of Stark's disappearance. The two women were silent for a few minutes as both watched their television screens in their respective homes. There was still no new information, but according to the anchor, there would be shortly as a few of the survivors, including James Rhodes _a/n: not specifically sure what rank he is or what denomination of the army/etc. he belongs to x.X .. I forgot, _were being debriefed on what happened.

"Oh, Lilly, I'm sorry," Rose said sympathetically as Lilly sat heavily onto her couch with a sigh. "I'm sure he's just fine and he'll turn up in a few hours or so. Stark's a smart guy."

"Yea," Lilly agreed reluctantly. She released a pent up breath she barely knew she had been holding, and ran a hand through her hair. "I sure hope so."

* * *

The next few days went by with Lilly in a constantly distracted state of mind, as Stark had still not turned up. She tried to put the issue of Stark's disappearance far away in her mind, but when her mind came to rest for even just a moment, the thoughts would come creeping back. Every day, the news announced the same thing: Stark gone missing after convoy attacked, still don't know of his whereabouts or if he is dead or alive.

Lilly stewed in her office, slamming things about, as she flipped through her paper work and folders. It had been a little more than a week, now, since Stark's disappearance, and the new nor the papers were offering much information, mostly because there was not much to offer, and Stark was still MIA.

_'Figures the moment I finally start actually caring for the guy, he goes off and gets himself possibly killed. I mean, seriously, what the hell?'_ Lilly grumpily thought, slamming more papers around. She slammed one folder down too hard, sending her cup of pens and pencils skittering off her desk and littering the floor. Lilly almost lost it, but instead took a deep breath and put her head into her folded arms on her desk. This was how Rose found her, pens and pencils littering the floor, papers spayed across her desk, and Lilly in the middle of it all, head in her hands.

"Hey there," Rose said quietly, slowly coming into the office. At Rose's words, Lilly bolted straight up in her seat, frantically wiping her eyes and smoothing her hair down.

"Oh, hey! I was just, going over the last few pieces of paper work for my surgery tomorrow," Lilly said, refusing to meet Rose's eyes as she tried to gather together the straying papers, arranging them in a jumbled pile. Rose watched her friend with a frown on her face.

"Lilly, how are you doing?" she asked in a worried tone.

"Me? Just fine. Just trying to finish this paper work," Lilly said, repeating herself. The two women were silent for a moment, and only the sound of shuffling paper was heard as Lilly continued to reorganize. But soon her movements slowed then stopped altogether and she slouched in her seat, tossing the papers she was holding onto the desk.

"I can't stop thinking about him," Lilly whispered, staring off into space. "I know we basically just met and all, but I learned so much about him that night. So much more about the guy I didn't think existed about him. I found that I actually kind of had feelings for him and we were really hitting it off. And then this." Lilly looked down at her hands, and sighed. Then she shrugged her shoulders in a tired sort of way and stood, running a hand through her hair.

"I'll be fine," Lilly said, forcing a smile and finally meeting Rose's worried gaze. "Really I will. I need to try and start concentrating for surgery, anyway."

"All right, if you say so," Rose said, still unsure. She hugged Lilly for a second and pulled away, holding her at arm's length and looking her hard in the eye. "You just call if you need me, though, ok?" Lilly gave a small smile.

"Will do."

"Hey, let me know, and we'll hit the bar some night after work and really get your mind off things," Rose suggested, from the doorway after opening the door.

"All right, Rose, I'll let you know," Lilly responded with a chuckle, walking back towards her desk, bending to pick up the spilt pens and pencils as she went. She finished picking up the spilt writing utensils and sat back down at her desk, staring blankly at her pile of paperwork as her mind went back to depressing thoughts about the situation.

"They'd better find your ass, Tony Stark," Lilly muttered aloud, finally pushing the situation back into the recesses of her mind for the time being so she could concentrate on her work.

* * *

The weeks went by, and Lilly completed two surgeries during that time, both turning out successful and curing the patient of their ailment. Her place in the hospital was now officially solidified now that she had operated, and the night after her first operation, George and Rose took her out for celebratory drinks. Even though her two previously scheduled surgeries were finished, she had long since said goodbye to those easy workdays where she found herself scrounging for something to do. Nowadays, her days were filled with paper work in preparation for her next patient and speaking and teaching at seminars there in the hospital and in outlying hospitals in the area on various topics. Even her weekends were busy at times when her presence was requested at another dinner, alongside her colleagues, or when the one occurrence she was asked to present an award.

It had now been about 3 months since Tony Stark's disappearance in the Afghan desert, and Lilly had eventually moved on. She still regretted that she would never fully get to know the man, as the situation was looking as of now that he wouldn't be found, at least not alive. His story would pop up into the news every now and then, but the news anchors and newspapers had long since ceased the constant chatter on the subject. Instead, they had continued to talk about Stark Industries, which was now being managed by Obadiah Stane, Tony's second at the company, since Tony's disappearance.

It was a Saturday morning and finally, Lilly was not required to attend any event that night, and no serious paperwork was bogging her down. She had been good and actually worked hard to get the major things out of the way in the beginning of the week. She needed a good day to herself, and she was determined to finally have one. Pouring her a bowl of cheerios, Lilly padded sleepily into the living room, flipping the television on as she settled onto the couch. Both Figaro and Tabitha jumped up onto the couch with her, sniffing curiously at her bowl of the cereal.

"Just cheerios you guys, seriously. And I know you know what they taste like. Yea, I'm looking at you, Tabby-girl," Lilly said, narrowing her eyes at Tabitha. There had been an earlier incident where Tabitha had apparently gotten a taste for the cereal, jumped up onto the counter, and went to town on the box, eating her fill before Lilly caught her. Tabitha just gave her a sweet and innocent meow. Lilly chuckled and scratched the cat under her chin, Tabitha purring appreciatively.

"All righty, let's see what's plaguing the world today," Lilly said aloud to herself, changing the channel from the history channel it had been currently on, to the news.

"Tony Stark has been found!" came the abruptly announced topic as the camera focused on an excited newswoman, apparently on scene at some airport with a huge crowd behind her standing at the base of a giant plane. This was the second time due to Stark that Lilly almost dropped her food. Lilly's heart leapt into her throat as she fixated on the television.

"This is an exciting day as the president of Stark Industries, Tony Stark himself, who was previously believed to be long since dead, was found wandering the Afghani desert a few hours earlier and has been brought home, much to the relief of his colleagues and friends," the newswoman chattered animatedly. Lilly just stared at the screen open mouthed, her cheerios long since forgotten in her lap. Figaro took the opportunity to hesitantly glance up at his owner, creep closer to the cheerios, and stick his head in the bowl, lapping at the milk. Lilly didn't even notice.

The camera-man panned the camera away from the newswoman to focus on the plane as the boarding ramps were currently being lowered down. Then Tony Stark came into view, being led by James Rhodes. Stark was dressed in a smart, blue suit, his right arm in a sling, and his head held high as he descended from the plane. All of the words being spoken by the newswoman became background noise to Lilly as she focused on Stark, watching as he reached the ground and waved away a stretcher that was rolled up to him. He left Rhodes' side, exchanged some words with a red-haired woman, then climbed into his Bentley with her, and drove out of view. The camera moved back to the newswoman, who was still talking, and Lilly finally snapped out of her shocked state.

"Seriously, Figaro?" she exclaimed in an annoyed tone, just realizing the cat had almost drank all of the milk from the bowl. Figaro, realizing he'd been caught, ran off the couch and into another room.

"You'd better run," Lilly grumbled, putting the soggy remains of her cheerios onto the coffee table. Suddenly the exorcist theme sounded in the room, causing Lilly to jump. She rose from the couch and walked over to the kitchen counter where her phone was currently ringing for her. She smiled briefly. Her friends always thought her strange for having that as her ringtone. It wasn't her fault she had an affinity for horror flicks and happened to like the music. Picking up her phone, she glanced at the number on the caller ID screen, but didn't recognize it. She answered it anyway.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Hello, Ms. Scott. How is your day so far?" came a male voice from the other side. A wide smile slowly spread on Lilly's face and she leaned against the counter. She'd recognize that voice anywhere.

"I thought I told you to call me Lilly, Mr. Stark," she replied, deciding to not answer his question.

"And I thought I told you to call me Tony," came the smart response, the hint of a smile in the tone. Lilly chuckled.

"Fair enough. Wait, how did you get my number?" she asked suddenly.

"Oh, I have my ways," Tony answered enigmatically. "And by ways I mean an excellent assistant. So you never answered my question. How was your day?" Lilly shook her head and smiled. This man never ceased to amaze her ... or make her question his sanity.

"My day has been fine. How about yours?" Lilly asked, wandering back into the living room and settling back onto the couch, temporarily muting the television.

"I've had better days," Tony said simply.

"So I've seen on the news," Lilly replied.

"So you've been checking up on me, have you? I hope I didn't worry you too much," he said, the smile evident in his speech. Lilly smiled as well, a pale blush spreading across her cheeks.

"Not too much."

"So that means you did worry about me," Tony said, in his quick manner of speaking. "Did you miss me?" Lilly just laughed and she could hear Tony chuckling with her on the other side. They were silent for a beat.

"Well, did you?" Tony asked in a soft and serious tone. Lilly was silent for another beat, not sure if she wanted to admit that of course she had missed him; more than she was almost willing to admit to herself. She opened her mouth to respond.

"Wait, hold on a second," Tony interrupted suddenly, just as she was about to speak. Then his voice sounded distant as he was speaking with the phone held away from his mouth. "Yea, hi. Four hamburgers please, thanks." Lilly laughed as she heard this, shaking her head. She seemed to do a lot of that when it came to Stark.

"All right," Tony said, his voice coming back loud and clear from the other side.

"Let me guess, 'the great American Hamburger'?" Lilly questioned.

"But of course. Compared to what I've been eating for the past three months, these bad boys are going to taste like heaven," Tony said. Tony told her to hold for a moment as he paid the drive through attendant and received his food. Lilly played with the ears on her bunny slippers as she listened to Tony talk in light tones with whoever was sitting in the car next to him. She assumed it was his assistant, the red haired woman she had seen get into the car with him earlier on the news. She laughed to herself as she heard him unwrap one of his hamburgers.

"Are you laughing at me?" came his voice, moments later after he swallowed the bite of food.

"I am indeed," Lilly teased.

"So, about our dinner plans," Tony brought up, after finishing another bite.

"You still remember?" Lilly asked, genuinely surprised. Well, partially surprised at this point. She knew that had to pretty much be the reason he was calling in the first place and so she had been anticipating him bringing the subject back up.

"Knowing I had you here to take to dinner is part of what kept me going these past three months. I didn't want to miss out on that chance," Tony said honestly, the tone of his voice soft and low and Lilly knew he was speaking sincerely.

"I would love for those plans to still take place," she said, softly as well.

"Tonight then," Tony said.

"Tonight? But shouldn't you get to a hospital or something? At least take a rest?" Lilly exclaimed in a worried tone.

"You're starting to sound like my assistant. Yes, you, Pepper," Tony said, the last part slightly muffled as he was directing it towards his assistant in the seat next to him. "And I am a grown man and can take perfect care of myself. I would like to take you to dinner tonight. I'll pick you up around 8 o'clock. _Fiore_ sound good?" Tony asked, naming a classy Italian restaurant.

"That sounds great, Tony. Just take care of yourself," Lilly agreed, chiding him gently as she glanced up at the television set. The camera was currently trained on a black Bentley pulling up against a curb lined with paparazzi, reporters, and people of all kinds. "And I should let you go, as it seems you've arrived at your destination," she said, with a half smile. Through the phone, she heard his car door open and the background noise on his end suddenly increase in volume as the many people waiting outside clapped and called out to Stark. On the TV screen, she watched as the very event happened.

"Glad to know I have an angel watching over me. See you tonight," Tony said quietly into the phone as Lilly watched on the screen as he climbed out of the car. Lilly's heart beat faster at his words.

"Bye," she said, hanging up her phone. On the television, Stark hung up his phone as well, and finally acknowledged Stane who was trying to talk to him. Lilly grinned to herself and giggling like a 15 year old girl with a Hollywood crush, she quickly dialed Rose's number.

* * *

Rose had already heard the news that Stark had returned, and admitted to just have been about to call Lilly when Lilly phoned her first. Lilly excitedly told her what happened, and Rose exclaimed how happy she was for her. The two friends chattered about the plans for that night and what Lilly should wear for nearly an hour before Lilly finally said she had some work she wanted to get done before that night. She said goodbye to Rose, then fetched her paperwork and forced herself to concentrate for a few hours on it.

A few hours passed, and Lilly barely got anything done. She sighed, setting aside the piece of paper she had been looking at, and ran a hand down her face. At least she had tried with good effort. She was just too nervous and excited to be able to concentrate on anything else. Glancing at the clock, she realized that it was a quarter to seven. She leapt to her feet with a happy exclamation that it was finally time to get ready.

Lilly took a hot shower, letting the hot water run over her body, trying to let it calm her down a bit. The last thing she wanted was to be wound up so tight that she just snapped when Tony arrived. After her shower, she applied all of her lotions and makeup still wrapped in her towel, as well as drying her hair and taking a straightener to the slightly more unruly parts that insisted on sticking out at odd angles. The clock read a quarter to 8. Once that was all finished, she walked into her bedroom and got dressed in the outfit she had laid out earlier that afternoon. Lilly had opted for a knee length, "little black dress" with thin straps and a wide, square neck-line, cutting just high enough to cover her properly, but being low enough to reveal a generous amount of cleavage. The dress hugged every curve of her body perfectly. Checking out her reflection in the mirror to make sure everything looks all right, Lilly found nothing wrong with her appearance and so she emptied the purse she used every day, and put the necessary things like her phone, etc. into a small, black clutch. She slipped on her black satin, peep-toed pumps, now standing a good three inches taller than before. As a last minute addition, Lilly put in a pair of simple, silver dangle earrings with a twisted and intricate design, to complete her look. And almost as if on cue, the buzzer for the speaker box to her apartment went off in the hallway near the front door.

"Hello?" Lilly asked, pressing the button after she hurried to the console.

"I'm ready down here when you are," came Tony's voice. Lilly smiled, her heart jumping at his voice.

"I'm ready. Be down in a minute," she said before hurrying back to her room to grab her clutch and check her appearance one last time. Content with how she looked, she tore herself away, made sure her cats were ok, then left her apartment and headed for the elevator to the lobby.

Lilly stepped out of the elevator when the doors opened and she glanced about, looking for Stark. Then she turned towards the entrance to the lobby and spotted him standing near one of the sitting areas, looking up at a giant painting that hung on the wall, his hands in his pockets. Lilly took a moment for herself to look him over when he wasn't watching her. Stark was dressed in a crisp black suit with a simple white dress shirt which had the first two buttons unbuttoned at the top, causing the shirt to gap open slightly. His hair was casually mussed and Lilly suddenly found herself with the overwhelming urge to simply run her fingers through it. Thankfully, she suppressed it before she embarrassed herself.

"I've always liked that painting myself," Lilly commented casually, continuing to walk towards Stark. At the sound of her voice, Stark turned towards her, but found himself at a loss for words temporarily, something that rarely happened. Lilly tried not to blush too badly as she watched and felt his eyes trace a path from her toes to the top of her head, and she could almost feel the line of fire they left.

"You look … amazing," Tony said, re-gathering his wits about him, and stepping forward to meet Lilly. He took her hand and brushed his lips across the back of it, his eyes focused intensely on her own. Lilly smiled coyly.

"Thank you. You look very well, yourself," she replied, her eyes sparkling with a myriad of emotions. "Onward to dinner then?"

"Here we go," Tony said, agreeing, as he offered her his arm, which she took. He then led her out of the lobby to his Bentley that was waiting, parked on the side of the curb. Stark opened the door for Lilly and helped her inside, then climbed in after her, allowing his driver to then shut the door behind him. Then, once the driver returned to his seat, they were off.

* * *

"Wait, you did what?" Tony asked in disbelief, staring wide eyed at Lilly, a smile playing on his lips. Lilly was laughing too hard for the moment to answer him, so she simply motioned to hold on for a second, as she tried to stifle her laughter with her napkin.

"Yea, my friends and I were a bunch of hoodlums. That's how my best friend and I met, actually," Lilly stated, referring to her earlier comment that had caused Tony to nearly choke on his chicken parmigiana. "Let's just say, I was extremely lucky when it came to being able to get out of trouble with the higher authorities." The two's eyes met for a moment, and then they both burst out in laughter again.

"Wow, Lilly Scott, I am amazed!" Tony exclaimed after he finally reigned in his laughter. "I never would have thought the nation's youngest and most accredited neurosurgeon of our time had such a wild past."

"I haven't even told you the half of the trouble I would get into," Lilly said, peering at Stark with a mischievous twinkle in her eye as she absently spun her fettuccini around on her fork. "But those are stories for another time."

"Are you insinuating that you want to see me again?" Tony said, slyly. Lilly chuckled, glancing down at her fork which she was still turning around on her plate, before she flicked her deep green eyes back up to him, and equally sly half smile gracing her lips.

"Maybe." The two held their gaze for a few beats, then Lilly finally lowered hers, finally eating the fettuccini she had been twining around her fork for the past few minutes. Stark smiled to himself, and also took their moment of silence to eat some more of his meal. Lilly's smile slowly faded as she chewed thoughtfully, her eyes trained on her plate.

"I don't mean to make a big deal out of it, but I'm just unsure sometimes about your reputation," Lilly said quietly, immediately feeling that she had said it too brashly. She also hated to broach the subject, but she felt that it was necessary if this had the chance of going any farther. She didn't want to simply become another notch on Stark's bedpost, no matter how charming and genuine he had seemed to be. Stark glanced up at her from his plate, his eyes reflecting the seriousness in hers. He lowered his fork, finishing the bite he had taken before he chose to spoke.

"I understand where you're coming from on that, and you have all the reason in the world to doubt me," he replied. "But I can only reassure you and ask, that with time, you come to fully trust me. The past three months … it made me really think about my life and my priorities. Constant fear for your life tends to have that effect on people." Lilly watched Stark sadly as he spoke about an apparently painful memory for him. This obviously was neither the same man from the dinner party nor even the same man from the Burger King meal. Even though his wry and sarcastic sense of humour still remained in full force, this new Tony Stark was a damaged man. His seldom revealed vulnerability cried out for someone to save him from the demons that had taken a hold of him and were threatening to completely drag him under. But even seeing this in Stark, Lilly also saw a tiny glimmer of strength in his gaze and in his words. This new Stark may be somewhat broken, but he was in no way beyond repair. Understanding this about Stark made Lilly's heart swell with compassion and she leaned forward suddenly, grasping his hand that rested on the table, causing him to look up at her suddenly in surprise.

"Hey, I believe you. And I'm willing to make you work for that trust if you're ready to work," she said with a smile. Stark matched her smile with a wide grin of his own.

"Anything for you, Ms. Scott," he whispered.

* * *

Tony exited the Bentley first after they had pulled up in front of her apartment building, then offered her his hand and helped her out of the car. She thanked him softly, and walked with him to the large, glass doors of the entrance to the building. They both stopped just outside the doors.

"Thank you for dinner, Tony. It was amazing," Lilly said, sincerely, looking shyly up at him from beneath her lashes.

"It was no problem. I had a great time with you," Tony replied softly. "I look forward to the next time and more stories from your wild childhood." Lilly chuckled and felt Stark take a small step closer to her. Her laughter ended "mid-chuckle" as her breath caught in her throat when her eyes locked with Stark's and saw the untamed passion evident there, turning his mahogany eyes an even deeper brown. He reached a hand up, trailing the outside of his fingertips along the base of her jaw, before gently cupping the back of her head in his hand.

"Tony," Lilly started, barely audible. But, before she knew it, their lips met and the metaphorical "fireworks" exploded inside of her. Her words forgotten, Lilly slipped her arms up around his neck, pulling Stark down to her, as he pulled her up against him with his free hand, leaving it resting on the small of her back. The kiss was short, but short didn't mean that it lacked passion. When Stark pulled away, though only a few inches and keeping her in his hold, Lilly found herself breathless and glad that his arms were around her as they were the only things holding her up.

"Goodnight, Lilly," Tony whispered against her lips.

"Goodnight, Tony," Lilly whispered back. Stark pressed his lips firmly to hers a final time, then abruptly released her, returned to his car, and pulled away from the curb. At the sudden absence of Stark's presence, Lilly felt confused and disoriented, so she stumbled back against the brick wall, using it for support. She slowly touched two fingers to her lips, which were still warm from Stark's kiss. A smile slowly spread on her face and she practically floated into the building and back up to her apartment, sure that she would be dreaming of Stark that night.

* * *

YAAAAAAAY ! .. haha .. finally, some lovin . sigh not the best written kiss, but I did my best. I just couldnt find the best way to phrase it. But anywho. This story will most likely get a tad bit more dramatic, and plus we'll be seeing Lilly and Stark's relationship moving a bit faster since they got over the first speed bump of getting together in the first place :P . And thats that. Working on the next chapter, will try and have it done before this coming Wednesday (21st). But in the meantime, you all know the drill. Push that pretty little button down there and tell me what you think !


	6. Stay With Me

All righty, and we're back for another chapter! .. This one's a bit shorter than the last few, and I apologize for that.

A quick note concerning a smaller note I already have in the text: the town of Al-Hazim I made up simply for the purposes of that specific part of the story. If that town happens to really exist, my apologies. lol.

And another note concerning the arc reactor in Stark's chest: As I was writing this chapter, I realized that I didnt do a whole lot of Stark's point of view in order to really progress and let in whats happening in the world of "Iron Man". Related to that, I realized that surely, with Lilly and Tony's relationship being the way it is, she would have realized the giant glowing blue thing in the center of his chest. But alas, either she's blind or just ignorant, becuase she doesnt know about it. lol. My bad :P. So, for sake of my mistake, let's say, that Lilly has not seen Stark in the nude faints at the thought or without a shirt, etc etc. And as slightly unbelievable as that is, I know and I apologize. Once again, my bad x.X

But I do believe that that is all, and so, if that is the case, read on!

* * *

Lilly opened her eyes the next morning and immediately smiled to herself, gently touching a finger to her lips. The memories of the night before had never been far off, as Stark had been whom she had dreamt about that night. She lay in bed on her back, staring up at the ceiling as she ran her kiss with Stark through her mind for the hundredth time since it happened. She could still remember the musky and spicy scent of his cologne when he kissed her and the way his fingers had entwined themselves in her hair as he pulled her towards him. Lilly gave a contented sigh. In the midst of her reminiscing, the exorcist theme sounded from her nightstand. Grabbing her cell phone from the nightstand and glancing at the caller ID, she saw it was Rose and immediately knew what she wanted.

"Hey, Rose," she answered the phone.

"Spill the details, NOW!" Rose commanded. Lilly laughed.

"Good morning to you too, Rose," she said.

"Did you kiss him?" Rose instead asked, blatantly ignoring Lilly's words.

"Hold your horses, let me tell you what happened," Lilly said quickly before Rose continued to grill her. Rose kept her mouth shut long enough for Lilly to quickly tell her the events of last night. But when she told her about the kiss, Rose squealed with glee, loud enough that Lilly had to hold the phone away from her ear for a moment.

"How old are you again, Rose?" Lilly asked in a mock patronizing tone.

"Old enough to have a career but young enough to still squeal like a 13 year old girl when the occasion calls for it!" Rose exclaimed, chuckling. The two friends chatted for a while longer, going from Lilly's date the night before, to things like work and mundane, everyday life. Finally Rose said she had to go and so they hung up. Soon after their conversation ended, and still smiling to herself, Lilly got out of bed and got ready for the day.

* * *

The weeks went by and Lilly and Stark saw plenty of each other during those weeks, usually just meeting up with each other to grab some coffee as Lilly's schedule was generally very busy. Though, they had found time to go out for dinner a few times during those weeks. And with each passing day and date, their relationship grew and Lilly found herself caring more and more for Stark. Stark opened up almost entirely to her. The only thing he did not speak so much about was what exactly happened while he had been held captive in Afghanistan for those three months. Lilly knew that it was sure to be a touchy subject, so she never pressed and decided that she would let him tell her everything when he was ready.

Lilly hummed happily to herself as she sauntered down the hallway to her office one morning, about two weeks after her first date with Stark. She fished her office keys out of her bag, unlocking the door, then letting herself in.

"You keep your desk incredibly tidy," a male voice said in its normal, quiet and quick manner of speaking from Lilly's desk.

"Holy-" she exclaimed, jumping out of surprise. Stark laughed and Lilly shot him a withering look, but then couldn't hold it, and so she broke out into laughter along with him. After setting down her purse and bag on a chair, she walked over to Stark who was still seated at the chair behind her desk, a coy smile playing on her lips. She placed both hands on his shoulders for support and sat down sideways in his lap, her hands running down his chest then back up to loop around his neck. Stark smiled lazily, his eyes flicking down to Lilly's lips then back up to her eyes, as one hand found her waist, and the other rubbing up and down her thigh, toying every now and then with the hem of her skirt.

"I thought I told you not to scare me like that," Lilly whispered seductively against his lips, her fingers toying with a curled lock of hair at the base of his skull. The hand Stark was running up and down her thigh, crept a few inches up under her skirt and trailed up and down the inside of her thigh with a feather-light touch. Lilly bit her bottom lip at the sensation.

"And what are you going to do about it?" Stark whispered back huskily, his eyes now trained only on her lips. Instead of answering, Lilly leaned in and sensually pressed her lips against his, biting his lower lip and pulling away slightly with it between her teeth before releasing it. Stark smirked, his eyes dark with want. He opened his mouth to speak, some smart remark most likely, but Lilly instead cut him off by pressing her lips to his again, harder this time, pushing him back as she leaned into the kiss. Stark's smart response was now reduced to a quiet groan as he kissed her back, the hand on her inner thigh stopping its feathery ministrations and instead gripping it tightly.

"Hey, Lilly, I- WHOA!" Rose exclaimed as she burst into Lilly's office without warning. Lilly leapt to her feet, smoothing her hair and skirt at the same time, as she stared wide eyed at Rose, her mind racing for something to say. Stark didn't rise, but had enough sense to at least look chagrined as he straightened his shirt.

"Oh wow, I didn't realize that the colour of your ceiling is the _same_ colour as the walls!" Rose said in an exaggerated manner as she stared intently at the ceiling, mortified at what she had just walked in on.

"Rose, you can look now," Lilly said with a sigh. Rose glanced over to the desk area, then seeing that it was okay to look, she lowered her head and turned towards the couple.

"I don't think you two have met formally. Rose this is Tony Stark. Tony, this is Rose Lee," Lilly said, introducing the two. Rose gave a small wave and mouthed the word "hi" as Tony also raised a hand in greeting.

"Um, yea, so, it really wasn't that important to begin with. Lilly, I'll talk to you later," Rose said quickly, ducking out of the room. As soon as the door closed Lilly rolled her eyes and turned back to Stark.

"I'm sorry. Rose has a really bad habit of doing that," she apologized. Stark chuckled and rose from the chair, kissing Lilly chastely on the lips. "So what are you doing here?"

"I was just in the neighbourhood and I thought I'd come surprise you before you started for the day," Stark said with a shrug, leaning back on her desk while facing her.

"Aw, how sweet! Tony Stark really does have a heart," Lilly gushed over exaggeratingly. Stark laughed and pulled her towards him by the waist, kissing her gently. Then he pulled away and cupped her face in his hand, his thumb stroking her cheek.

"Thanks to you," he said softly, looking Lilly straight in the eye. She smiled.

* * *

"Hey there, Rosalie," Lilly said, poking her head into Rose's office, and calling her affectionately by a combination of her first and last name.

"Oh my god, Lilly, I'm so sorry to have burst in on you like that this morning!" Rose immediately exclaimed, taking off her reading glasses from where she sat behind her desk. Lilly laughed.

"Hey, it's ok. I just wanted to say goodnight before I headed out," she said.

"All right. And hey, we need to go out for drinks sometime this week. I've barely seen you!" Rose called as Lilly turned to leave the room.

"All right. I'll give you a call later," Lilly said, then waved her goodbye to Rose before walking down the hallway towards to elevator and back towards her car.

* * *

Tony Stark sat down in his workshop on a couch facing a flat screen television that was mounted on the wall across from him. He was currently watching the news. He flexed his right hand, which was held out before him, encased in a mess of wires and metal; the metal forming a glove over his hand.

When he had arrived back from Afghanistan, he had sworn that he would stop developing weapons that would just be used to create more death and destruction. He had even announced his decision to change the priorities of Stark Industries during the press meeting he had called only hours after his plane had landed. Of course, the announcement had created an uproar and Obadiah had tried to talk him down, but Stark was adamant. Instead of continuing development on more weapons, he had started to improve upon his prototype of the iron suit he had made whilst in captivity on his own in his basement workshop. He had finally completed it, and was now just putting the finishing touches on some parts of it. Stark tightened a screw with the screwdriver he was holding, as he watched the current news story with a grim expression.

"It is a time of mourning in this small town of Al-Hazim _((A/N: not a real place))_ as the people have come under attack and their town has been practically destroyed," the news woman reported from on site. Behind her, the people of the town trudged wearily past her, most of their belongings either packed up onto their backs or onto mules which they led behind them. Stark continued to watch, ceasing his repairs on the robotic arm for the moment. His eyebrows furrowed together and he frowned as a video was played of a building exploding as people were seen running screaming from it.

"As you can see behind me, the townspeople have taken up what belongings of theirs that have not been destroyed, and are taking to a temporary retreat in the nearby hills," the news-anchor reported once the camera was back on her. Stark had had enough. He stood slowly, but almost ominously, as he examined the console on his arm. His jaw set firmly, he held out his right arm and aimed at the nearest pane of glass. With a growl sounding deep in his throat, he let loose and fired a strong beam from the glove at the pane of glass, instantly shattering it, the force of the shot knocking him back a step. Momentarily amazed at the power he just released, Stark overcame the initial shock and replaced it with determination. Supporting his right arm with his other hand, he turned and shot off three more shots in succession; destroying a hanging industrial light and two more panes of glass. 

As satisfying as it was making things explode, it only did so much for getting rid of his anger concerning the situation. He tore the console from his arm and tossed it onto a nearby worktable, barely caring what happened to it. He stalked over to his liquor stash and pulled out a bottle of scotch, completely foregoing a glass. He then walked back over to the couch, sat down, and started to drink directly from the bottle, his eyes trained on the television, glowering at it as the news channel continued to report about the destruction occurring in Afghanistan. Stark took another swig of the liquor, his eyes flicking to the finished suit which hung from cables across the room. He glared at it, already starting to feel the effects of the scotch, which caused the vision of the suit to blur. Frustrated, he turned back to the television and took a long draw from the bottle.

"I'm not strong enough," he muttered to himself, banishing the thought of using the suit from his mind. Taking another long drink from the bottle, Stark reached over and fumbled for his cell phone which was sitting on the coffee table before him. Flipping it open, he went down his contacts list, pressing wrong buttons intermittently from his tipsy, nearly drunk, state. He finally found the number he was looking for a pressed send.

"Hello?" came Lilly's sleepy voice from the other side.

"I need you," Stark slurred simply into the phone. There was a beat of silence from the other side.

"Tony, is everything ok?" Lilly asked worriedly, the sleepiness disappearing from her voice.

"I'm just not strong enough," he said instead, taking another sip of the scotch. "I'm just not strong enough to help. I need you here." His voice cracked at his last words and that spurred Lilly into action.

"Ok, Tony, listen to me. I'll be there in ten minutes, ok? Keep your phone with you and you call me if you need me before I get there," Lilly said slowly, speaking clearly and stressing the importance of her words to the pretty much drunk Stark.

"Ok," Stark mumbled into the phone. They both hung up, and Stark stayed in his position leaning back on the couch, his head leaning back on the head of the couch, the bottle of scotch clutched in his hand. He stared blankly at the television screen, no longer really registering anything the news was saying anymore. He took another sip, and closed his eyes, succumbing to the demons of the bottle and praying that Lilly got there soon.

* * *

Lilly sped down the highway towards Malibu. She had shed her pajamas and donned jeans and a simple white t shirt and gotten into her car all in record timing. As she drove towards Stark's house, seriously exceeding the speed limit, her heart was pounding in her chest. Lilly was almost afraid of what she was going to find when she got to his home. She had never heard him so down before and hearing him sound like that, scared the hell out of her.

Lilly turned down Stark's street, her tires squealing because of the speed at which she took the turn. Thankfully she had spent some time with Stark at his home during the past few weeks, and so she didn't have to worry about trying to get his address out of him in this state. Lilly finally arrived in front of his home, pulling into the circular driveway and finally putting her car into park in the driveway right in front of the front door. She exited her car, lightly jogging up to the front door and testing the doorknob. It was unlocked.

"Tony, you have to stop forgetting to lock your door," Lilly muttered to herself as she let herself into his house, closing the front door behind her. "Tony?" Lilly called out into the dark and empty house. She wandered from room to room, not finding him in the living room, the kitchen, or even his bedroom. Descending the stairs after searching for him in his bedroom, her eyes went to the staircase that continued down another floor to where she knew his workshop was. Lilly went and quickly descended those stairs, stopping dead when she reached the bottom and came across broken glass littering all around her. Looking up, she realized the source of the broken glass: two of the three panels of glass wall had been completely destroyed. Only the glass in the door remained un-shattered.

"Tony, are you in here?" Lilly called, sufficiently worried at this point. She stepped cautiously through the broken glass panes and into the workshop. Electricity popped to her right, and she glanced that way, seeing the destroyed light, hanging, now, only by a few wires and sending out sparks every now and then. As she came further into the room, she noticed the back of Stark's head leaning against the head of the couch.

"Tony?" Lilly said, walking quickly around the couch. Stark looked up at her from his lounged position on the couch, the bottle of scotch still held in his hand, but only a sip remained. He had drained the entire bottle.

"You came," Stark stated flatly, the relief evident, if not in his voice, definitely in his eyes.

"Of course I did," Lilly said, kneeling next to him on the couch and smoothing the hair away from his forehead, caressing his face. She leaned in and pressed a kiss to his forehead. She frowned as she watched him just stare blankly at the wall in front of him, not even looking at her anymore.

"Hey, let me have this," she said quietly, taking the scotch bottle from his hand and placing it on the table. When she sat back in the couch, Stark lay down and put his head in her lap without saying a word. Lilly sighed to herself, and stroked his hair, waiting for him to tell her what was wrong.

"I don't have the strength to help people," Stark finally said, his words muffled from his position in Lilly's lap.

"What do you mean you don't have the strength?" Lilly asked, leaning down so she could hear him better. Instead, he sat up and looked at her, running a hand down his face tiredly.

"There are so many out there who need help, and I can't do anything about it. I don't even have the strength to keep even myself alive," Tony said slowly, eventually getting all the words out in a coherent sentence. Lilly looked at him, her eyes widened slightly with mild alarm at his words.

"Tony, honey, I really don't understand what you're talking about. You're starting to scare me a little," Lilly whispered. Stark didn't speak, but grabbed her hand and held it against his chest. Instead of touching soft, warm flesh, her fingers hit hard metal.

"What …" she trailed off, recoiling and looking at Stark, highly confused. Stark just stared at her, still not speaking, and Lilly hesitantly glanced down at his chest where she had felt metal instead of skin. Slowly, she reached over and began to pull his shirt up, Stark simply adjusting slightly so she could lift his shirt, his eyes never leaving her face. With a gasp, she stopped when she reached apparently what he wanted to show her. Embedded in the center of his chest was a glowing, blue sphere.

"What is _that_?" Lilly exclaimed, a bit louder than she had intended. She was shocked at what she was looking at, and hesitantly touched her fingers to it, watching it flare up briefly at her touch.

"I should have died months ago. This is what's keeping me alive," Stark explained slowly, tapping the glowing sphere as he closely watched Lilly's reaction. She was still staring at it, almost entranced by the clear, blue light that shown from it, and she traced a finger slowly around the outer edge of it where metal met skin. "I can't even rely on me to save me. I have to rely on this." A tear escaped down Stark's cheek and Lilly realized that he was crying. Her heart was breaking as she watched Tony Stark break down in front of her; the demons owned him for the night.

"Come here," Lilly whispered, pulling Stark to her tightly, and holding him, as he cried silently. Lilly didn't know how long they stayed in that position, she sitting sideways on the couch with Stark's face buried against the crook of her neck. She pressed a soft kiss to the side of his head, rubbing his back as she held him.

"Let's get you to bed. It's late," she whispered into his ear finally, when she felt that he was a bit calmer. Lilly released him, and he pulled back, his eyes red-rimmed and utterly mournful. It almost broke her heart a second just looking at him. Lilly stood, and held Stark's hands as she pulled him to his feet, steadying him as he staggered for a moment. Then, with him leaning his near full weight against her, she maneuvered him up two flights of stairs to his bedroom. Sitting him on the side of his bed, she knelt down and took off his shoes, tossing them to the side. Then she stood and bent down, pulling his shirt up over his head and tossed that along in the same direction as his shoes.

"Stand up for a second," she whispered to him, helping him stand. He held onto her shoulders for support as she undid his belt. Their eyes met as she was slipping it out of his belt loops, and her movements slowed and stopped as Stark bent towards her. Their lips met softly, only brushing against each other's with feather-light touches. When Lilly pulled away, she saw the haziness in Stark's eyes and knew he would pass out at any moment. So she finished undressing him by removing his pants, leaving him only in his boxers, and ushered him into bed, pulling the sheet up to his chest once he was lying down.

"Stay with me," Stark whispered, holding on tightly to her hand when she made a move to leave the room. Lilly looked down at him, his eyes half lidded with drunkenness and tiredness, but the grip on her arm like steel and the desire for her to stay apparent in his voice.

"All right," she whispered back. She stepped out of her shoes, emptied her pockets onto his nightstand, and then crawled into bed next to Stark, pulling the covers over her body. She snuggled close to him, pressing a kiss to the side of his head as she held him close to her. He was passed out almost immediately after that and began to snore lightly. Lilly watched him as he slept, a frown still darkening her features. She was still confused by what he had been talking about, and after seeing the glowing sphere set in his chest, she was even more confused. Thinking about the orb, made her glance down at it where it flowed steadily from its place. She touched a finger to it, marveling at its mere existence in that place. She sighed softly and promised to ask Stark about all of it in the morning once he was sober.

"Goodnight," she whispered, then closed her eyes and passed out shortly after Stark.

* * *

yay for dramatics. I was hoping to make that last scene a lot more dramatic than it came out, but shrug oh well. Just didnt happen that way. Not much to say after this, but I will say that there is an important author's note after this chapter that I strongly suggest you read, especially if this story is listed on your alerts or favourites.

But besides that, thank you all to those of you who have been reviewing, its awesome to know some of you love it! And to keep on with tradition; you all know the drill. Push that pretty little button down there and tell me what you think !


	7. AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hey, guys. Ok, some of you may hate me temporarily for this, and I APOLOGIZE ever so much, BUT: **I am putting "Change of Heart" on brief hiatus for the following month**. I'm leaving the country, (tomorrow actually) for Egypt and Tunisia for a months time. I get back June 17th. I'll have internet connection while there, via internet cafes, so I can still read all the awesome reviews (hint hint), but I wont have my laptop or a word processor, so I wont be able to write anymore of the story and get it uploaded to the site. However, just because I cant write on a computer and upload it immediately, doesn't mean I plan to completely cease writing for a month. I'm bringing a notebook and will write in that until I get back. Maybe I'll even have a full chapter or two done by the time I get back, and I'll be able to post those soon after.

But anyways, I'm so sorry! This last chapter was thankful to get finished, actually, before I left. My parting gift to you :)

But please keep reviewing and I promise to be back in a month with something new!

aFallensrequiem .


	8. AUTHOR'S NOTE PART DEUX

I'm baaaaack ! haha .. I know you all missed me ;P . And I wish I could come back saying I have two new chapters, or at least one, all ready for you, but alas, that is not the case. This past month was BUSY and tiring to the max, so I really had 0 time to write. Therefore, I have nothing new written ((dodges thrown objects)). But, now I'm back home and I promise to get back into the writing groove.

And omg, thank you all who reviewed, etc! .. It was so cool logging onto the internet in some Tunisian internet café and having, like, 5 people favouriting my story and multiple reviews. I thought it was so cool that people were still getting really into it and everything !

Speaking of my trip, I uploaded some of the pictures I took onto photobucket, and I put the link in my author's profile, if any of you want to check them out . Some of them are pretty awesome .

But yes, habibi. I'm sorry I didn't get anything else written, but I promise to get right back on that and get a new chapter out as soon as I can. This new chapter will be competing with the 20 page paper I have to write in four weeks for the this study abroad trip I just came back from, too x.X

But I promise !

Thanks to all my fans :P

aFallensrequiem .


	9. Foofy?

(ducks to miss thrown objects) HA YOU MISSED! .. ok, first off .. im so sorry its taken me so long to post x.X .. my bad, completely .. as soon as I got back from my trip, was dead tired and had a whole bunch of crap to type up, plus a 15 page paper, plus i decided to last minute sign up for a summer PSYC course, which thankfully just ended two days ago .. (huge sigh) .. sooo .. I'm back with another chapter, finally, and it's my longest yet ! .. yaaaaay .

i was actually hoping to add two or three more scenes/events to this before i ended the chapter, but it would have taken even longer and had made it like ... a bunch of more pages longer, i cant count tonight .. haha .. so i decided against, and bring you this new chapter right now !

nothing else, really, so by all means, read on !

* * *

A bright beam of light focused itself on Lilly's closed lids. Her sleeping form shifted slightly, trying to escape the light, but to no avail. She squinted her still closed eyes and groaned, the bright light rousing her from her sleep. Lilly rolled onto her back and sighed, groggily opening her eyes and staring up at the ceiling. She had been having an amazing dream, and had just been getting to the good part when that good for nothing beam of light decided to try and dry her retinas through her eyelids.

"Fucking sun," she muttered under her breath as she tried to rub the sleep from her eyes. No one had ever accused her of being a morning person. Once she felt awake enough to do anything else besides lie there, she sat up and looked about the room.

Lilly was sitting squarely in the middle of a king-sized bed, with the sheets tangled around her ankles at the foot of the bed. The bed was positioned in the middle of a large bedroom with enormous floor to ceiling windows that faced out over the ocean. One of them currently had the curtains partially pulled back, thus letting in the offending sunbeam. Besides the bed, a black bureau, and a few potted plants and decorative paintings, the room was bare. Had Lilly not been in the room, it would have appeared that no one inhabited the room at all. And it was as Lilly looked around, that the memories of the night before came flooding back and she realized where she was.

"Jeez, Tony. Don't go too crazy with the personal touches," she said aloud, rolling her eyes. She brought her knees up to her chest and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she sighed, remembering why she was waking up in Stark's bed instead of her own. She knew nothing happened between the two, from what she could remember. There was a shared kiss, but that was it. Lilly rested her forehead on her knees, her long hair settling around the sides of her face, shielding it from view of the empty room. Stark had needed her last night, and that was why she was here. But he had never told her what the matter was.

Lilly blew out a breath of air she had been holding and detached herself from the sheets, which reluctantly released their grip on her lower calves after a moment of struggling, and padded silently into the master bathroom. She groaned when she caught her reflection in the mirror. She looked haggard. Lilly had ended up sleeping in her clothes the night before, and as a result, they were wrinkled and cockeyed. Her hair was rumpled, but otherwise, not too bad. And thankfully she had taken off her makeup and everything already, so there was so chance of it being smeared across her face. Lilly adjusted her shirt, smoothing it again and again, and then ran her fingers through her hair to brush out the kinks and tangles. She spied Stark's toothpaste on the counter of the sink, and dabbing a little on the tip of her finger, she ran it across her teeth, brushing as best as she could without an actual toothbrush.

Lilly left the bathroom as soon as she was done making herself as presentable as she could and headed for the door to exit the bedroom. However, as she was about to leave the room, she spied a picture frame hanging behind the large fronds of the potted fern by the door. Puzzled, she pushed the fronds away and rescued the picture from its hiding place and brought it out into the open. It was a simple picture of Stark, who appeared to be about 13 or so, with an enormous smile on his young face and an arm around an older man who stood next to him, and whom Lilly recognized to be his father. Stark's father also had his arm around his son's shoulders and was beaming widely into the camera. Lilly smiled faintly to herself as she studied the picture, and saw something in this young boy Stark had once been which Lilly knew no one would ever see again. It was the innocence and care-freeness of a child who idolized his father and had his father's guidance as he grew. Lilly traced a finger down the side of Stark's face in the picture, and then set it up on his bureau where it could be seen. She then turned and opened the door, and stepped into the hallway.

The moment Lilly opened the bedroom door and stepped out onto the landing, she was assaulted with the heavenly scent of cooking eggs and bacon. Her mouth watered at the smell, and she descended the stairs, heading towards the kitchen and origin of the cooking food. Lilly walked into the kitchen and the aroma hit her full force. Stark was standing at the stove, his back to her, as he attended to the cooking pans. He looked showered and was dressed in a simple t shirt and jeans. Seeing him, Lilly wondered how long he had been up before her. Stark buzzed about the stove area, completely unaware of Lilly behind him, until she stepped up flush against his back and wrapped her arms around his middle.

"Good morning, sunshine," she murmured into his ear from her position behind him, kissing him softly on the back of his neck. Stark chuckled and turned around in her grasp.

"Good morning, to you, too," he said and kissed her softly. "You like your eggs scrambled?" Stark asked, turning back to the stove as Lilly released him.

"Yes, sir," she confirmed, and jumped up onto the counter next to the stove, swinging her legs idly as she watched Stark cook. Stark flipped the bacon one last time and glanced at Lilly from the corner of his eye.

"You're looking mighty rumpled this morning, I might add," he said, sounding nonchalant but knowing that it would set Lilly off. Sure enough, Lilly gave him a pointed look.

"Well, considering I spent the night in my clothes and fighting with _someone_ for the covers. You'd look rumpled as well," she said, raising an eyebrow and smirking. Stark didn't look at her as he turned off the stove, moved the pans to cool burners, and stepped up to Lilly, moving her legs aside so he could stand between them. As he stepped up flush against her and the counters, one hand on each of her thighs, he looked into her eyes.

"Oh yea? You weren't the only one fending off a thief last night. _Someone_ here likes to sleep diagonally across the entire bed," he countered, his face completely serious, but his eyes light and playful.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Lilly responded, trying in vain to keep a straight face as she denied exactly what she knew she always did. Sleeping diagonally was a terrible habit of hers. Many a person had ended up on the floor because of her strange sleeping habit. The two stared at each other, Stark pulling off an amazing poker face, while Lilly failed miserably.

"You have a terrible poker face," Stark murmured, his eyes flicking down to Lilly's lips. Lilly gave up trying to feign seriousness and cracked a smile, shifting a bit from her seat on the counter.

"I know. My brothers never let me forget it growing up," she said. "There were all these times when they-" Before Lilly could finish, Stark leaned in and captured her lips with his, silencing her effectively from her rambling. Lilly didn't protest and instead gathered two handfuls of Stark's shirt in her hands at his waist, pulling him closer to her. Stark massaged one of her thighs with one hand as his other crept up and wound itself in her hair, deepening the kiss. Just as the kiss was approaching the point of something more as Lilly's fingers began tracing along the waistband of Stark's jeans, there came a startled yelp and a crash from the doorway. Stark and Lilly leapt apart, startled by the sudden sound.

"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean to interrupt, I-I mean, oh … oh jeez!" a tall woman with reddish hair stuttered from the doorway to the kitchen. At her feet, lay a shattered glass vase with the flowers that once inhabited it, lying forlornly in a puddle of water. Lilly blushed so hard, she thought her face would catch fire. Stark had recovered immediately and barely seemed phased by it, so walked over to the woman and bent down to help her clean up the broken vase.

"Hey, Pepper. Don't worry about it. By the way, Pepper Potts, this is Lilly Scott. Lilly, this is my assistant, Pepper," Stark said, introducing the two women, as he rose and fetched some paper towels.

"Hi," Pepper said in an apologetic tone, giving a sort of half wave and clutching a sort of planner to her. Lilly smiled and mouthed "Hi" from her place on the counter as she tried to subtly fan her face, which was still burning. With the vase cleaned up, the three of them stood in silence, Pepper studying her planner, Lilly studying her hands, and Stark looking back and forth between the two.

"All right, now that this is sufficiently awkward…" Stark said finally, breaking the silence and trailing off, indirectly hinting for Pepper to say why she had come in.

"Right!" Pepper exclaimed, opening her planner, snapping to attention, and startling Lilly at the same time so that she almost fell off the counter. "Mr. Stane called twice already and he wants to talk to you about something that seems really important," Pepper recited from her notepad, drawing out her last word. She continued to rattle off a huge list of things that Stark already had on his plate for the day and Lilly found herself overwhelmed with the amount of people and corporations who wanted a piece of him.

"Oh, and one more thing. You realize your annual benefit ball is tonight. Maybe you could show up this year?" Pepper said, trailing off as she snapped her planner shut again. She gave a knowing smile as Stark gave a smug smile in return and turned to Lilly who had zoned out long ago and was currently staring at the ceiling and swinging her legs again.

"And what are your plans for the evening, my dear?" Stark asked sweetly. Lilly stopped swinging her legs, and glanced over at him from the corner of her eye.

"Um, CSI re-runs?" Stark gave her a look.

"Right. You're coming to the benefit tonight with me," he announced, then turned and started to fetch plates and silverware and dole out the breakfast food, which had been forgotten on the stove until this point.

"Benefit?" Lilly asked no one in particular, one eye brow rising in confusion.

"Mr. Stark, well, his company using his name to officiate it, started a foundation a few years ago. So every year, they have a ball where they award a check to a different company that needs it, etc.," Pepper explained. "And ever since the benefit has been started, Mr. Stark has failed to attend or participate in any way," Pepper said, giving a Stark a look as he walked past her to the kitchen table with two plates of food in his hands.

"What?" he asked innocently, as he passed by her. Pepper just rolled her eyes.

"Well, that's everything, Mr. Stark. Please try to remember to call Mr. Stane, though. I'll call you in an hour to make sure you have," Pepper said before leaving the room. Lilly jumped off the counter and stretched her arms high above her head, her shirt rising up over her stomach for a moment.

"Where is she going? Doesn't she want some breakfast?" she asked, walking towards the table when Stark sat down in front of his own plate of food. Lilly joined him at the table, settling across from him, in front of the plate of food he had set for her.

"Nah, she's either already eaten or has plans. Otherwise, she wouldn't have gotten out of here so fast," Stark said, reassuring Lilly. Lilly nodded in understanding as she speared a piece of scrambled egg and began to munch away contentedly. The two were quiet as they ate, and Lilly's mind went back to the night before, and the reason she was at his house having breakfast in the first place. She frowned as she lost interest in eating the more she thought about it. Stark glance up at her from his own plate and noticed her disinterested look as she stared at her plate, pushing a piece of scrambled egg back and forth across her plate.

"What's wrong?" Stark asked. "My cooking can't be that terrible that you only took three bites of it." Stark joked, smiling crookedly. Lilly smiled down at her plate before looking up at him finally.

"I'm just still wondering about the reason why you called me last night," she said. "You had me really scared there for a while. I've never seen you like that, Tony." Stark held her gaze for a moment, the crooked smile dissipating from his lips, then he dropped his eyes to his plate and halfheartedly stabbed at some egg and bringing it halfway to his lips before giving up and putting down his fork slowly.

"I'm sorry to have scared you, I promise I didn't mean to. But … I was just having a rough night," he said, not meeting her eyes, still. Lilly watched him carefully, not speaking just yet as she studied him.

"But what caused it? What did you mean 'you're not strong enough'? And just what the hell exactly is that thing in your chest? That would sure as hell be a great one to explain to me!" Lilly nearly shouted, her temper immediately flaring, when she saw that Stark wasn't going to offer any more information on his own. Lilly's short temper was something she had been trying her entire life to rein in, but it always seemed to get the best of her. Stark opened his mouth as if to speak, but then he closed it again and made a miniscule shake of his head. There was obviously something he was holding back from Lilly and not telling her, and knowing that, was killing her. She frowned, growing irritated. How could he scare the hell out of her, by calling her to his home in the middle of the night without any explanation, and then when she shows up to find him sitting in the wreckage of his basement, utterly wasted … what is she supposed to do? Just let it go and brush it off as if it never happened? That was obviously what Stark was trying to get her to by not giving her any straight answers.

"Tony? What is going on?" Lilly asked slowly and clearly, her arms crossing over her chest as she sat back in her chair, glaring at him.

"It's nothing, Lilly. Eat your breakfast," Stark muttered, picking up his fork again and spooning scrambled eggs into his mouth with great gusto. Lilly sat there for a few moments longer, simply watching him, both of her eyebrows raised in disbelief at his blatant dismissal of the situation.

"Fine," she said brusquely, and shoved back her chair, earning a loud squawk as it dragged across the floor the wrong way. Stark looked up in surprise and dismay as she rose and headed for the front door.

"Ah come on, Lilly, please!" he exclaimed, throwing down his fork and hurrying after her. Lilly just ignored him and grabbed her keys on her way to the door from where she had left them on the small end table near the door.

"Hey, Lilly, listen to me. You can trust me, it's nothing you need to worry about!" Stark urged as he grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him, stopping her from leaving the house. "Come on, babe, really," he said, smiling crookedly again as he tried to be reassuring. He tried to cup her chin in his hand, but she just brushed it away. Lilly stared at him, her look telling him that she was in no way buying any of his bullshit.

"Right. Nothing for me to worry about. Tony, there is obviously something going on of great importance, otherwise, you wouldn't have called me in the middle of the night last night, in near tears. There is something that has been stressing you out and keeping you up at night, because I see it written all over your face as clear as day. I can see how tired you are and I want to help you, but you won't even tell me what the matter is!" Lilly exclaimed, distressed. Stark only watched her with a pained expression. Lilly raised her arm and held Stark's face in her hand for a brief moment, running her thumb over his cheek as she stared into his eyes. She finally sighed, though, and dropped her hand and her eyes.

"You call me when you really want to tell me what the hell is going on, Tony," Lilly muttered, walking out the door and making sure to slam it extra hard as she left. Stark sighed after she had gone, and ran a hand down his suddenly very tired looking face. There was no way he could tell her exactly what was going on yet. He knew that she deserved all of the answers, but there was still something holding him back from spilling everything. He wasn't even sure, at this point, what he was doing or what was going on. He was nearly as lost as she.

* * *

Lilly slammed her car door behind her as she exited the car and made her way into her building and up to her apartment. She reached her door, angrily unlocked it, and slamming the door behind her, threw her keys and purse onto the table with such force, they slid off the other way and onto the floor. She didn't care and just walked past them into the kitchen. As per routine when she was feeling angry or just had something on her mind, she had a habit of going through her fridge and cupboards, glancing at the food inside and then closing the door, over and over again. After about five cycles of doing this, she felt a little calmer and so closed the fridge door without slamming it and leant back against the counters with a sigh. Lilly stared blankly off into space as she tapped her finger on her chin and thought. Stark's behaviour was odd, to say the least, and she wasn't sure what had brought it on. Not to mention, it definitely did not make her worry any less about his situation.

As she stood and thought, her apartment phone began to ring. Lilly didn't move to answer it, but instead stood where she was in the same position, and stared at the mounted wall phone from the corner of her eye, almost as if it were a snake about to attack. Finally, the rings stopped and Lilly's voice on the answering machine filled the apartment.

"_Hey, this is Lilly, I'm not home right now, but just leave a message and I'll get back to you eventually! BEEP"_

"_Hey, Lilly, um, it's Tony_," came Stark's voice from the other line. Lilly groaned and rolled her eyes, finally leaving her position. She padded through her apartment to her room, listening to the machine gather the rest of the message. "_Look, I'm kinda going through a lot here, and it's making me a bit stressed, which is what the call was about last night. I didn't want to worry you or anything, but that's all it is. I know you want more of an answer, but for the time being, that's really all I can tell you. I don't like secrets, and I know you don't either, babe, but just trust me on this: it'll be ok and I'll tell you soon. Um, I love you. Call me back_?"

Lilly stood leaning against her bedroom doorway, staring out at the answering machine as Stark's message ended, a bath towel held loosely in her hands. She frowned at the contents of the message, a little upset that Stark hadn't said anything before about him being really busy or stressed about something. It worried her that he wasn't confiding in her 100 like she thought he had been. With a sigh, she brushed the uncomfortable feeling away and turned back into her room. And just as Lilly was about to close the bathroom door in order to shower, she heard her cell phone begin to ring. She groaned out of frustration and almost thought about letting it go, thinking it might have been Stark again, but her cell phone was her number one means of communication with work so it could potentially be important. Lilly left the bathroom, tossed the towel onto her bed, and narrowly avoided dropping it onto her two cats who were curled around each other in the center of it. She swooped up her phone from where it had escaped from her purse which was still on the floor, and glanced at the caller ID.

"Hey there, Rose," she answered, flipping open the phone, and greeting her friend on the other line.

"Good morning! I was wondering if you wanted to go out for lunch in about an hour or so?" Rose asked.

"Sure, I'd love to," Lilly agreed, quickly. She really needed something to get her mind off the present situation, and Rose was perfect. The two friends worked out their plans and then said goodbye for the time being. Lilly dropped her phone back onto her purse on the floor, not really caring to pick it up at all, then made her way back to her room to finish taking her shower and getting ready for her lunch date with Rose.

* * *

Lilly ended up hanging out with Rose for almost 5 hours, as the friends sat at the restaurant and ate and chatted, then walked around some shops, and finally settled down at a small café to talk some more. Lilly opened up to her friend about her worries concerning Stark and his behaviour lately, about how she was a little worried about him, but also a little angry that he wouldn't tell her exactly what was going on. Of course, Lilly left out the part about the glowing orb resting in the middle of his chest. That one, she wasn't ready to break to her friend just yet. Rose listened sympathetically and dished out advice as best as she could, to just let Stark have some breathing room for a little and not to pressure him too much. Lilly returned to her apartment in a much better mood. She dropped her purse on the end table and walked into the kitchen, following the sound of her beeping answering machine. From the number of times the light blinked, she saw that she had 4 messages, 1 of them she already knew was from Stark. She pressed the play button on the machine and went to fetch the cat food to feed her hungry kittens who had wandered into the kitchen, looking for food.

The first message was Stark's, which she had already heard, so she just deleted it and moved onto the next one. The second was a telemarketer, the third was her car insurance company, and the fourth was Stark again.

_"Hey, Lilly, it's me. I know you're probably still a little mad at me, but I still want you to come out to the benefit with me tonight. You can't just leave me to fend for myself against the foundation brigade. Sooo, you'd better be ready when I come pick you up around 8! Love you, babe."_ Lilly groaned and glanced over at the clock, which read 6 o'clock. True, her mood had lifted after being out with Rose, but she was still irritated with Stark and wasn't sure that she was up for being out in the public eye with him. She leaned against the counter as she considered calling Stark and cancelling, but as much as didn't want to really be around him for the moment, she also wasn't willing to ditch him. Lilly sighed, seeing no way out of it. An insistent meow tore her away from her thoughts, and she looked down. Tabitha and Figaro sat at her feet, staring up impatiently at the container of food Lilly still held in her hand. Figaro stood up on his hind legs and put his front paws up on her leg, reaching out with one paw. He meowed again as if to say "Come on, we're hungry!"

"Oops, sorry, kittens. Here you go," she said, apologizing as she poured the cats some food into their food bowls. The cats purred appreciatively and stuck their heads into the bowls even before the stream of food was done leaving the container. Lilly put the cat food away again and decided to get some of her paperwork done before she had to get ready for the benefit in a few hours.

* * *

A quarter to 8 finally came around, and Lilly was in her bathroom, pinning back one last piece of hair from her face. She had decided on a simple, floor length black gown with a modest back, but a low enough dip in the front to make up for the modesty. For her hair, she had decided on pinning it up randomly into a mess of curls at the back of her head, letting some fall loose to brush lightly against the nape of her neck. There was one curl, however, that refused to stay in place, and so she had spent the past five minutes attempting to get it to cooperate with her. Finally, she pinned it down successfully, and in a way so that it wasn't sticking out at a random angle like it had been before. Just as she was pulling away from the mirror after the successful pinning, there was a knock at her door. Lilly sighed, glanced at her reflection one more time, and then shut the light off in the bathroom, grabbed her evening purse, and headed to the front door. She whipped it open, stepped out, and slammed it shut again without even glancing at Stark who was standing there, a bit bewildered at first at her suddenness.

"You look beautiful," he murmured, once he had overcome his initial surprise. He brushed a stray curl from the base of Lilly's neck softly as he leaned in and tried to place a kiss there, but Lilly turned away and out of his grasp, heading for the elevator.

"Coming?" she asked brusquely, turning around to ask him the question impatiently and with one eyebrow raised. Stark sighed inwardly but nodded all the same and walked quickly to meet her at the elevator before she could board without him.

* * *

The drive to the benefit was practically silent, as Lilly was content staring out the window nearly the entire ride. She had reluctantly let Stark hold her hand after the fifteenth time he had tried to grab it, but other than an unenthusiastic sigh, she didn't deign to acknowledge the action. Stark finally gave up trying to converse with her or even get her to look at him, so then he resigned himself, as well, to staring out the window. Stark's Bentley pulled up to the benefit after what seemed an eternity of awkwardness and silence, and Stark leapt out of the car, eager to be free of the tension he 

had inadvertently caused. Lilly took Stark's offered hand to help her out of the car, but dropped it as soon as she was standing.

"Please, will you at least be civil with me while in the public eye like this? I'm not asking much of you, but please?" Stark whispered in Lilly's ear as he gripped her elbow, keeping her from walking away from him. Lilly was silent for a moment, then she turned and looked Stark straight in the eye, her face only inches from his.

"Fine. But don't you dare think that this fixes anything," she whispered back. Stark gave her a small smile, which she didn't return. She did, however, allow him to loop his arm with hers, and lead her down the carpet and past the many paparazzi and reporters. Lilly forced a wide smile as she posed with pictures with Stark, but whenever he glanced at her, he could see the frustration and annoyance in her eyes. Lilly eventually had enough of being Stark's arm candy and practically dragged him into the main building and off the carpet without making it look too obvious that she was leading him. Once inside, Lilly immediately dislodged herself from his arm.

"I'm going to the bar, because I need a drink. Come if you want, but otherwise, you know where to find me," she said, and promptly turned on her heel and disappeared. Stark watched her walk away from him, for what seemed like the thousandth time in a short amount of time. He didn't even try to stop her, but instead turned and grabbed a flute of champagne off a passing tray and started a circulation of the room.

Stark made sure to exchange pleasantries with all the people who mattered; basically, all of those who were donating large sums of money to his foundation. He had made a point of actually showing up this year, so he didn't want to come off as the rude host. He soon found himself wearying of the charade very fast, and was reminded of why he avoided these large, public parties. At one point, Stark found himself trapped talking to a woman who said she was the editor-in-chief to some popular fashion magazine, but for the life of him, Stark couldn't remember what she had told him. All of the people who had introduced themselves to him had started to blend together. As the woman spoke, her voice turned into a steady droning noise as Stark immediately tuned her out, staring intently at her mouth as she spoke. She had gotten some lipstick on one of her front teeth, and the vibrant red colour contrasting against the white of her teeth had him mesmerized.

"Right, Mr. Stark?" the woman questioned, jovially. Stark snapped out of the trance he was in and stared at the woman like she had sprouted a second head.

"Of course," Stark said, not sure at all what she had been talking about, but suddenly overwhelmed with the need to just get away as fast as he could. And so with one motion, he drained the rest of his champagne, turned on his heel, and walked away, leaving the editor-in-chief with a very bewildered expression on her face.

Stark headed straight for the bar and set his empty champagne glass down heavily, leaning on the bar, supporting himself on his forearms. He dropped his head down and closed his eyes, needing a second to clear his thoughts and have a moment of peace.

"Whiskey, please?" he asked the bartender, raising one hand and without even looking up. The bartender filled his drink order quickly, and placed it in his still upraised hand. "Thank you," Stark muttered, standing up and taking a large swig of the drink.

"Honeybunches!" exclaimed a female voice to his right. Stark stiffened then turned, and seeing who it was, swallowed the large sip of whiskey the wrong way, causing him to go into a coughing fit. The woman who had spoken laughed in a grating high-pitched tone and flipped her long, dark hair over her shoulder as she cocked her head and looked up at him. Once the coughing subsided, Stark hesitantly looked back at the woman, grimacing when he saw she was still standing there.

"Hello, Mia," Stark said, almost as if the words burnt him to say. Mia pretended to pout.

"You don't look too happy to see me, lovey-kins. Why is that?" she asked in a baby voice as she twirled the end of a lock of her hair. Stark winced at the pet-name and groaned inwardly. His night, and day in general, had officially hit the lowest point possible: his girlfriend was barely speaking to him, he was stuck entertaining people he could barely care less about at the moment, and now his psycho ex-girlfriend was back to torment him.

"I thought you had moved to Hawaii like you said you were going to," Stark said in a strained voice, searching the ballroom frantically, trying to look for a way out. The pout disappeared from Mia's full lips and was replaced with a wide grin, instead.

"No, silly! I was going to, but then I just couldn't bear the thought of being so far away from you, so I decided to stay," she explained, as if it were the simplest thing in the world to understand. "I got a job here in Miami as a fashion assistant!" Stark just stared down at Mia as she spoke, utterly baffled how he had once actually spent time with this annoying clutter of pet-names, overpowering-perfume, and self-tanner. He unconsciously made a look of mild and horrified disgust.

"You know, Tony, it's been way too long since we last spent time together. Don't you miss me?" Mia asked, suddenly very close to Stark. She played with the buttons on his shirt, her body pressed against his and her eyelashes fluttering at him as she smiled prettily, waiting for an answer. Unfortunately, all functions of speech failed Stark at that particular moment, and so nothing came out of his open mouth but a small squeak.

"Can I help you?" Lilly said, suddenly appearing from behind Stark. Mia immediately stepped away from Stark as Lilly stepped closer, wrapping an arm around his waist. Inwardly, Stark heaved a huge sigh of relief.

"Foofy, who's this?" Mia asked in her cutesy voice, her narrow eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. Lilly cocked an eyebrow and cracked a half smile in mild amusement.

"_Foofy_?" Lilly asked, stressing the word, as she looked up at Stark.

"Lilly, this is Mia, an ex-girlfriend. Mia, this is my girlfriend, Dr. Lilly Scott," Stark stated clearly for both women to hear. Lilly dropped her gaze back down to Mia, standing to her full height and looking down at the small women with a cold glare. Lilly was only slightly above average height at 5'8", but even she dwarfed Mia, who only stood at 5'1". It made the perfect opportunity for intimidation. Mia did her best to return an equally icy glare to Lilly, but it fell short and she soon gave up the effort and resorted to pouting.

"But … but, _Tony_," Mia whined. Lilly's eyebrows shot up to her hairline at the audacity of this girl, who really was such, since she appeared to be no more than 20. Completely ignoring Mia, Lilly reached over and plucked Stark's drink out of his hand and set it on the bar.

"Let's dance, _honey_," Lilly stated, looking up at Stark with a forced smile on her face, and only Stark could see how angry she was beneath the fake smile. Without waiting for his response, Lilly grabbed his hand and dragged him away from Mia and the bar, but not without sending one last icy glare in Mia's direction. As Lilly dragged Stark to the dance floor, he couldn't decide who he was more afraid to be alone with at the moment: Mia or Lilly. They reached the dance floor in the middle of a slower song, and so they took their positions close to the center of the dancing throng of people.

"Seriously, Tony? What the hell was that? And honestly, how old _is_ she?" Lilly spat out immediately, unable to contain her frustration any longer. Stark winced and wiggled his fingers one by one in the hand which Lilly held, as she was nearly cutting off his circulation in her anger-fueled death grip.

"She was someone I dated a long time ago when I was still going through my playboy phase, Lilly. I didn't think it necessary that I bring up every 'ex' I've had up to the time I met you," Stark muttered back, his temper finally starting to flare. He was tired of Lilly being angry with him and by this point, the stress had finally gotten to him with so many things going wrong, that he just couldn't hold the anger back any longer.

"Well gee, _lovey-kins_, I didn't know that you were attracted to 16 year old, bubble-gum teens. However did you end up with boring, old me?" Lilly hissed, strategically stomping on Stark's foot for emphasis. Stark bit back a yelp and limped the next few steps, trying to urge the temporary pain away from his foot. Once his toes had stopped throbbing he glared at Lilly and dipped her a little faster than normal, jerking her to a quick stop right before she would have hit the ground.

"Yes, I'll agree that my taste in women was once questionable. And I've 'ended up' with you because you're probably the greatest thing that's happened to me. Now stop sniping at me," he growled, holding her down in the dip, their faces inches away. Lilly's angry expression dropped away at his words, and when he brought her back up from the dip, she wore a more somber expression and was much more subdued, the fight and fire gone from her. Stark noticed the change in her demeanor and so he just pulled her close to him, his mouth set in a grim line, and swayed with her for the rest of the song in silence, her head resting on his shoulder. As the song came to an end, Stark looked up and spotted Obadiah Stane making his way out the main door. A sudden realization came to him, that he had failed to call Stane that morning like he had promised Pepper, and so now would be an ideal time to catch him to talk for a moment. The song ended and Lilly picked her head up from Stark's shoulder, her eyes a little misty. She gave a small smile and touched the side of Stark's face gently.

"Tony, I-" she started.

"Wait, Lilly, give me two minutes?" Stark said, pressing a finger to her lips, cutting her off before she could finish her thought. Her eyes widened but she listened. "Just let me run and talk to Obadiah. I forgot to call him back earlier." And before anything else could be said, Stark pressed a quick kiss to Lilly's cheek, and walked quickly after Stane. Lilly stood in the center of the dance floor, looking slightly bewildered at the suddenness at Stark's departure. But with a sigh, she trudged back over to the bar and decided to wait for him to return.

Stark caught Stane outside chatting with a reporter as her video man filmed him and many paparazzi stood around, taking pictures. He began to walk up to Stane from behind, planning on simply cutting into the interview and asking him about the call earlier, but what he heard, made him slow and listen first.

"Yes, Stark Industries has really revamped their weapons production line and we're getting them out there faster than ever. New clients every day, so the demand is never lacking!" he exclaimed jovially, chuckling with the reporter. Stark's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion at the words of his colleague.

"Obadiah!" Stark called as he hurried down the last few steps to the same level as Stane, who turned at the sound of his name.

"Tony Stark! I'm a little surprised to see you here. I'd heard that you were still taking a personal leave," Obadiah Stane said, surprise clearly etched across the features of his face as he turned to greet Stark. The two men gripped forearms in meeting, and faced each other to speak, the interview being formerly given, now forgotten.

"What do you mean the weapon production line? I thought we had agreed to shut that all down?" Stark demanded in a low voice, trying to shut out the woman reporter who was leaning closer and closer with her microphone, trying to catch what was passing between the two men. Stark sent a glare towards the reporter and she backed off a bit. Stane sighed and ran a hand over his bald head, looking away from Stark for a moment before answering.

"Tony, we had talked about this. But with your condition and what happened with your kidnapping, you've really been in no condition to run this company, so I've been watching it and making sure-"

"So basically you've taken over the company without even consulting me," Stark stated simply, cutting off Stane before he could figuratively blow anymore smoke up his ass. Stane was silent for a moment, but refused to either confirm or deny Stark's claim.

"Listen, let's talk about this later, hm?" Stane suggested, putting an arm around Stark's shoulders and turning back towards the paparazzi, smiling widely as they flashing of their cameras doubled. A smile failed to reach Stark's face and he brushed Stane's arm off his shoulder and stalked off, too angry to do anything else but march straight back to his Bentley, climb in, and speed away back home.

* * *

yaay done !

**one note about this chapter**: since my story basically follows the plotline of the movie, i realize that the convo between stark and stane at the end isnt exactly about the same thing as it was in the movie .. but it worked out since i didnt have the reporter lady with the pics, blah blah, so i took artistic liberty with it .. IM ALLOWED TO, OK ?! :P

thank you all for sticking through and waiting for my lazy butt to finish another installment .. and dont worry, i will dutifully work on the next and get that cranked out soon, hopefully .

but, you all should know the drill by now .. press that pretty little button down there and tell me what you think !


	10. AUTHOR'S NOTE PART TRES

Hey guys !

Ok, soooooooo .. I know it's been like, what, a year, since the last time I updated this thing ? (and please don't throw anything at me once you realize the NEW CHAPTER POSTED !!! :D:D email you get is just this lame message) But I know it's been forever, and to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure if and when I'll update again . I'd really like to finish this story, but I'm finishing up my semester and SUPER SUPER busy.

Maybe Stark will get some lovin' once again when this semester is over and I actually have time to breathe!

aFallensrequiem


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